What happens if information provided by the media to the Secretary, when they are using the DA-Notice system, reveals a possible breach of, for example, the Official Secrets Act?
• All discussion between the media and the Secretary is carried out in confidence, and government departments do not subsequently initiate police/legal action unless they have information from some other source (possibly the published article or book, of course). The Secretary therefore makes every effort to point out to the media any material which he thinks might be in breach of an injunction or which might be an offence under some Act, but he is not himself a legal expert and therefore sometimes advises consulting the Treasury Solicitor for expert legal advice, in order to head off possible police/legal action.
