‘Premature' to decide whether MI5 should face contempt probe, judges rule
An injunction was made in April 2022 to prevent the corporation disclosing information likely to identify the man, referred to only as 'X', though Mr Justice Chamberlain said the BBC could still air the programme and the key issues, without identifying him.
But at a hearing earlier this year, the London court was told that part of the written evidence provided by MI5 was false.
Lawyers for the BBC told the court the 'low threshold' for launching contempt proceedings against MI5 and a number of individuals, for not being fully transparent with the court, had been met.
In a decision on Wednesday, the Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr said that a further investigation should be carried out and that it would be 'premature to reach any conclusions on whether to initiate contempt proceedings against any individual'.
The senior judge said that the new investigation should be carried out on behalf of the Investigatory Powers Commissioner.
Baroness Carr, sitting with Dame Victoria Sharp and Mr Justice Chamberlain, also said: 'The investigations carried out by MI5 to date suffer from serious procedural deficiencies.
'Their conclusions cannot presently be relied on.'
The written witness evidence, now accepted to have been false, said the Security Service had maintained its policy of neither confirming nor denying (NCND) the identities of intelligence sources.
However, MI5 disclosed X's status to a BBC reporter, but then said it had kept to the NCND policy.
Lawyers on behalf of MI5 apologised earlier this year and carried out two investigations, which concluded the false evidence was given due to a series of mistakes with no deliberate attempt by any staff member to mislead.
In Wednesday's 26-page ruling, the three judges said they were not 'satisfied' with the investigations or their conclusions.
They added: 'It is regrettable that MI5's explanations to this court were given in a piecemeal and unsatisfactory way — and only following the repeated intervention of the court.'
In the programme about X, the BBC alleged the intelligence source was a misogynistic neo-Nazi who attacked his girlfriend, referred to by the pseudonym Beth, with a machete.
Beth is bringing related legal action in the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT), with the judges finding on Wednesday that the specialist tribunal – which investigates allegations against the UK intelligence services – was also misled.
Baroness Carr later said: 'Whilst we accept the genuineness of the apologies proffered on behalf of MI5, the fact remains that this case has raised serious issues.
'MI5 gave false evidence to three courts. This was compounded by inadequate attempts to explain the circumstances.'
Following the ruling, MI5 director-general Sir Ken McCallum said: 'I wish to repeat my full and unreserved apology for the errors made in these proceedings.
'We take our duty to provide truthful, accurate and complete information with the utmost seriousness.
'Resolving this matter to the court's satisfaction is of the highest priority for MI5 and we are committed to co-operating fully with the Investigatory Powers Commissioner's Office and the court.
'MI5 is now embarked on a programme of work to learn all lessons and implement changes to ensure this does not happen again. This programme will build in external challenge and expertise – with independent assurance to the Home Secretary on our progress.
'MI5's job is to keep the country safe. Maintaining the trust of the courts is essential to that mission.'
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The Sun
2 hours ago
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I know my TV career's over & I fear for my financial future, says wallowing Gregg Wallace as he moans about BBC sacking
SHAMED Gregg Wallace has vowed never to watch MasterChef again following his sacking. Asked if he will tune in to the latest series which he co-presented, he said: 'No, no, no, no.' 5 5 The 60-year-old — fired this month after an investigation into his behaviour — added: 'I'm hurt. I don't want anything to do with telly. I don't want anything to do with the BBC.' The BBC confirmed it will air the series with Wallace and co-host John Torode, who was also sacked. Defiant Wallace has hit back at the damning legal investigation into his behaviour — claiming HE was groped during his time on MasterChef. The furious 60-year-old ex-presenter, fired this month, also believes he was accused of wrongdoing by women with an 'agenda' against him. In a hard-hitting interview, he acknowledges he will never appear on TV again - and says he will not watch the new series of the show in which he features alongside axed co-host John Torode. He says: 'The whole complaints procedure needs to be readdressed - there are huge problems with it as things stand. 'Being on MasterChef was brilliant but I had so many bad experiences on that show too. 'Had I wanted to raise any complaints, I'd have had the decency to speak to that person directly. Privately, not publicly. 'My God, can you imagine the complaints I could have made? Have you got any idea of the sexual references made to me on a daily basis? 'How many times I've been touched by women wanting a selfie? How many times I've been groped? How many times suggestive comments have been made to me? How many female contestants have said inappropriate things on MasterChef? Shamed Gregg Wallace says 'I'm no groper, sex pest or flasher,' as tearful star refuses to accept blame for BBC sacking 'It wouldn't even cross my mind though. Now, I'm not suggesting that groping is right, but it was happening to me on a regular basis. It was just extraordinary. 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Under the 2010 Equalities Act, employers are duty-bound to protect those with disabilities - which includes autism, a condition he was formally diagnosed with in January. He sighs: 'Honestly I don't know if I will go through with it right now though. I feel utterly battered and bruised, and right now just want to hide behind my sofa drinking Horlicks. 'Perhaps when the dust has settled but it's too early to say what I will do next.' Last week the BBC and MasterChef production company Banijay confirmed they will be airing the series which he and Torode filmed last year. Will Wallace be watching? 5 5 5 He rages: 'No, no, no, no. I'm hurt. I don't want anything to do with telly. I don't want anything to do with the BBC. I really don't care. I'm just really pleased for the contestants because MasterChef, really, is all about them - it was never about John and I. 'Whoever hosts it next, and I really don't care who it is, the show will be absolutely fine.' Speaking from his sprawling country home in rural Kent, Wallace admits he is worried about his financial future. He adds: 'But, for a long time, I earned a lot of money and I was careful with it. I am not expecting sympathy from anyone but obviously I have a family, and of course I do worry.' He accepts his TV career is over, and has just qualified as a personal trainer helping men over 50 get fit. He charges £50 a week for his 20 clients, giving them a one-hour, face-to-face online session plus a full nutrition and exercise plan. It is a far cry from his reported £400,000-a-year salary on MasterChef. But, he insists, it brings him happiness. Today, the gym is a respite for him. In 2022 the former greengrocer was awarded an MBE for services to food and charity. But in the wake of the report against him - undertaken by law firm Lewis Silkin with 45 out of 83 allegations upheld - he fears being stripped of the title. He muses: 'What will my legacy be now? I don't want it to be telly, I want nothing to do with it all. I have worried about losing my MBE but there's not a lot I can do about it. But I haven't done anything illegal and hopefully now more and more people will realise that I haven't been exposing myself, and I haven't been groping people either. 'So now I want to start campaigning - raising more awareness of neurodiversity in the workplace. 'I think perceptions may slowly change and all I want is people to ask questions of people whose behaviour they find odd - even people that might look like a football hooligan to you. 'You can't decide which groups of people or which disabilities you will support or won't support in the workplace. You either embrace it all or you don't. 'For example, the BBC should have spotted my autism sooner and sent me off to Occupational Health rather than letting all these complaints to build up against me, with nobody saying anything until the floodgates opened and it all came out. I feel very angry about that.' Wallace is so angry with the BBC that when they asked him repeatedly for an interview he declined. Anger, of course, is something many, many women felt towards Wallace in the wake of his arrogantly foolish comments on Instagram last year in which he said he was accused by 'middle-class women of a certain age'. It is, he acknowledges ruefully, a phrase that will haunt him forever. No, no, no, why did I look like an a**hole? He was asking me to do something, and he got my name wrong. Did I say anywhere that I wouldn't help him? Gregg Wallace After spending two hours with Wallace, it seems evident he is on the spectrum. Frankly, how it took until the age of 60 for him to be diagnosed is baffling. One incident that has unquestionably marked him came in 2012 when a fan tweeted the presenter to ask for help raising awareness of a charity bike ride. Nick Holder posted: 'Hi Greg, I am cycling just over 180 miles in 2 days for Macmillan Cancer Support. Any chance of an RT?' Instead of supporting Nick's endeavours, Gregg, with two Gs, simply responded 'Gregg?' Cuttingly - and quite rightly - Nick replied: 'No worries mate, it's only people with cancer. You worry about your extra G. Mastert**t.' The exchange quickly went viral, with Wallace mercilessly ridiculed. Does he not realise, I ask, that he came across as, well, an utter a**hole? (A question not many people would take well.) Nope, Gregg is still bemused and frustrated by the incident. He asks: 'No, no, no, why did I look like an a**hole? He was asking me to do something, and he got my name wrong. Did I say anywhere that I wouldn't help him? 'So why didn't he just go, 'Oh, OK mate, sorry I got that wrong. Would you help me?' 'And if that would have been the narrative, then fine, but instead he said, 'Oh, don't worry, it's only people dying of cancer, you get your name right, w***er'. 'If only he'd just said, 'Oh, sorry, mate, G-R-E-G-G, could you help me?' Then of course I would have done so, that's what I wanted to do, but people don't know that. I have done so much for charities over the years, I have always done so.' When I ask him if such pedantry is his autism at play, he bizarrely doubles down and insists I would not understand because people have not been spelling my name wrong for years. 'Banter' no excuse for behaviour By Penny East WHEN 'inappropriate sexual language' and 'unwelcome physical contact' take place at work, we must surely call it out as sexual harassment. Gregg Wallace's attempts to minimise his actions are unhelpful — he still fails to recognise the harm caused. There are too many excuses. Too many attempts to shift the blame. Wallace is a household name and with that comes power. Too often men defend this kind of behaviour as 'banter'. But it is nothing of the sort. Wallace held the power and he chose to take advantage of that over many years. Particularly over people who 'felt too intimidated or nervous to say anything at the time'. I point out that, as a 'Clemmie', I spent my childhood years regularly being called 'Clammy', and joyfully, 'Chlamydia'. And that, no, it would not have irked me one iota. He snaps back: 'Congratulations, well done you — you're obviously not autistic.' Had I not spent the morning with the man - and, crucially, his lovely family - I might have been pretty horrified by that. As it is, I realise he genuinely sees things incredibly black and white. Quite literally there is no filter with Wallace. When he feels an injustice, he says it. Certainly you see a different side to the man - who can only go out in a disguise now, so afraid of public perception is he - when you see him interacting with his family. His incredibly loyal wife Anna, who makes me a coffee, is lovely and his six-year-old non-verbal autistic son Sid is an utter delight. Anna has been my rock - we had some really tough conversations when it was all kicking off but I promised her I have never, ever cheated Gregg Wallace Two French bulldogs, Wally and Bella, tear around the house, while his delightful mother-in-law Rina potters around in the kitchen. Indeed, such is his autism, he makes diary reminders in his phone nudging him to be romantic. He says: 'Anna told me once she wanted spontaneous hugs from me so that's what I do now… so the hugs might not be spontaneous for me, but they are for her.' He credits his family for keeping him around. Without them, he admits tearfully, he might have taken his own life during a particularly bleak spell last Christmas. He reflects: 'But then I realised that would be selfish on them, and totally unfair. Anna has been my rock - we had some really tough conversations when it was all kicking off but I promised her I have never, ever cheated. 'She knows I have not looked at another woman since the moment I laid eyes on her. 'But seeing how tough this been on them - my mum, who died earlier this year, called me one day to ask why the Prime Minister was talking about me on telly - has been heartbreaking. 'Wokeism and cancel culture is terrifying - I just hope no one else ever has to go through anything like this.'
