David Shayler

David Shayler was a former member of the British Security Service (MI5) who was prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act after passing documents to newspaper the Mail on Sunday.

In August 1997 he sent documents to the Mail on Sunday. He alleged that the Security Service was paranoid about socialists and that it had previously investigated Labour Party ministers Peter Mandelson, Jack Straw and Harriet Harman.

He fled to France and was arrested on 1 August 1998. After being denied legal aid to fight his extradiction case he won when French judges decided that exposing secrets was not grounds for extradition.

In August 2000 he voluntarily returned to the UK and was arrested. In November 2002 he was jailed for 6 months. He only served seven weeks in prison.