In November 2005, British civil servant David Keogh and parliamentary researcher Leo O'Connor were charged under sections 3 and 5 of the Official Secrets Act 1989 over the alleged leak of a classified memo. The document reportedly recorded an April 2004 discussion between Prime Minister Tony Blair and President George W. Bush in which Blair dissuaded Bush from bombing Al Jazeera's headquarters in Qatar. The source establishes the charges and the alleged contents, but does not independently prove that a bombing plan was authorized or carried out.
The UK government argued that disclosure could seriously damage international relations, and the trial was held under extensive secrecy at the Old Bailey after a judge invoked Section 11 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981. On 10 May 2007, Keogh was convicted on two counts and sentenced to six months in prison, with £5,000 in prosecution costs; O'Connor was convicted on one count and sentenced to three months. The case also raised concerns about government control of information after the BBC initially reported that a different Iraq memo was involved, a claim later challenged and superseded by mainstream coverage identifying the Al Jazeera memo.
