Talk:Official Secrets Act 1889

Moved from Talk: Official Secrets Act

There is another official secrets act prior to the 1911. Interestingly i believe it contained a 'public interest' defence. Official Secrets Act 1889 c. 52 anyone know anything about this act?

The Official Secrets Act, 1889, which was repealed by the 1911 Act, contained provisions penalising the disclosure of official information (section 1) and breach of official trust (section 2). The section 1 offence related to communicating information when "in the interest of the State, it ought not to be communicated". The offence in section 2 related to-

"Where a person, by means of his holding or having held an office under Her Majesty the Queen, has lawfully or unlawfully either obtained possession of or control over any document, sketch, plan, or model, or acquired any information, and at any time corruptly or contrary to his official duty communicates or attempts to communicate that document, sketch, plan, model, or information to any person to whom the same ought not, in the interest of the State, or otherwise in the public interest, to be communicated at that time, he shall be guilty of a breach of official trust."

That reference to the "public interest" may be what you are thinking of. While expressed as an offence of disclosing information that ought not in the public interest be disclosed, it may have given rise to a defence that the disclosure was indeed in the public interest (although the reference to the interest of the State would still be relevant).George Burgess (talk) 22:57, 13 March 2008 (UTC)