Trump: Kim Darroch discusses UK relationship
A former civil servant suing the government has revealed in court today that he has signed a book deal to detail a potentially embarrassing episode in recent UK relations with the US.
Andrew Hale-Byrne, who used to be an official at the Department for International Trade, has told a court hearing today that he will publish a book in the US on the allegations surrounding the former British ambassador Lord Darroch who was accused by a national newspaper and in court documents of "selling secrets for sex".
It has been alleged and repeated in High Court documents that Darroch had an affair with a CNN journalist who he allegedly fed the highest level UK/ US secrets to.
The allegations first appeared in a British tabloid in 2020 after Darroch had already been withdrawn as ambassador over another leak which revealed he had criticised the then President Donald Trump.
Mr Hale-Byrne, who at the time was in bed recovering from a cancer operation, was blamed for the leak and arrested by 14 counter terrorism police who broke their way into his flat.
READ MORE: Cleverly accused of 'cover up' over claims UK ambassador gave 'secrets for sex'
Donald Trump and Darroch did not get on (Image: Getty)
Mr Hale-Byrne spent months under investigation and is suing the government for damages over his ordeal.
But while he was Foreign Secretary James Cleverly signed an application for the case to be heard in a closed hearing on security grounds using legislation designed for terrorism cases.
Senior politicians including for Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith have described the move as an "abuse" of a law set up for terrorists.
The court hearing today was Mr Hale-Byrne's challenge to the imposition of a legal process which would mean he would have no access to the court and would have lawyers imposed on him by the government who could not communicate with him.
In his testimony he accused the government of using the process to "cover up" the allegations over Lord Darroch and "airbrush him out of the case."
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James Cleverly asked for the case to be heard in a secure court using terror laws (Image: Getty)
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Hale-Byrne said in his submission that any attempt to cover up the alleged scandal would be fruitless because he would sue in the US instead where the UK government could not use the same laws.
He also revealed that he has signed a book deal "with a major publisher" to lay out the allegations about the Darroch case and what happened to him personally.
The book could be hugely damaging for the UK/ US special relationship especially if Donald Trump wins the Presidential election in November.
The claimant response to the government's case for holding the court hearings in secret, said: "Since the publishing of Lord Darroch’s leaking of US state Secrets in exchange for sexual favours from a CNN journalist and the subsequent official UK cover up, the Claimant has been offered a lucrative book deal by an established publisher in the United States where British counterterrorism laws cannot be weaponised against the Claimant.
"Indeed, the Claimant has signed a publishing contract for the international publishing rights for the work titled 'More Collateral Damage: The True Story of Kim Darroch and How he Sold Out the United States' slated for publishing in late 2024. This publication will lead to a book tour for the claimant and further press interviews. The Claimant will challenge and refute any false insinuation about his dealings with the press."
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Hale-Byrne, who has American/ British citizenship, has maintained that he was "framed" for the original alleged Darroch leak because senior civil servants believed he was "a rightwing Trump supporter" even though he had previously worked for Democrats and has been a human rights campaigner.
If the case goes public it will see more than 20 civil servants including some of the top officials in Whitehall questioned over their role in the allegations including the alleged cover-up of the alleged Darroch leaks and the alleged framing of Mr Hale Byrne.
Express.co.uk has previously approached Lord Darroch for comment and received no response.
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