ABC trial

The ABC Trial was a trial of charges under sections 1 and 2 of the Official Secrets Act 1911 trial in United Kingdom. It took place in 1978 and is named after the three defendants: Crispin Aubrey,^[1] John Berry and Duncan Campbell. Aubrey was a journalist for Time Out, John Berry was a former corporal in signals intelligence (SIGINT), and Duncan Campbell was an investigative journalist.

One of the prosecution witnesses was an anonymous SIGINT officer, referred to as Colonel B.

Timeline

• 18 February 1977: Aubrey and Campbell (the two journalists) interviewed Berry
• 20 February 1977: All three men were arrested and charged under section 2 of the Official Secrets Act 1911 (Berry was charged with "communicating classified information to unauthorised persons", and Campbell and Aubrey with "unauthorised receipt of classified information")
• 24 May 1977: Further charges were added under section 1 of the Official Secrets Act
• 9 August 1977: Additional charge under section 1 against Duncan Campbell, for collecting information
• November 1977: Committal hearing at Tottenham Magistrates Court. First appearance of Colonel B as a prosecution witness.
• 5 September 1978: Trial opens at the Old Bailey in front of Mr Justice Willis
• 18 September 1978: Trial stopped after jury foreman exposed as a former SAS officer
• 3 October 1978: Second trial opens in front of Mr Justice Mars-Jones
• 24 October 1978: All section 1 charges dropped
• 17 November 1978: Aubrey, Berry and Campbell receive non-custodial sentences

References

• Campbell, Duncan (1979). Official Secrecy and British Libertarianism
• Aubrey, Crispin (1981). Who's Watching You? Britain's Security Services & the Official Secrets Act (1st ed.). Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-022283-9.
• Robertson, Geoffrey (1999). The Justice Game, Vintage Books. ISBN 0-09-958191-4

External links

• The ABC Trial via archive.org
• Ferrets or Skunks - Chapter Five from Robertson (1999)