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Parliament to hold debate on ‘The Guardian newspaper and its impact on national security’

By Darren Boyle

A Tory MP who wrote to the Metropolitan police to investigate the Guardian over the Edward Snowden files has now secured a Parliamentary debate into the matter.

Julian Smith, called for Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan Howe to investigate whether the paper breached the Official Secrets Act and the Terrorism Act 2000.

The Home Office will be obliged to respond to questioning from Smith during the 30 minute debate in Westminster Hall on Tuesday afternoon entitled: 'The Guardian newspaper and its impact on national security'.

Smith said: “I am pleased that the Speaker has granted me time for this important debate. I look forward to laying out the reasons why I believe that the Guardian has crossed the line between responsible journalism and seriously risking our National Security and the lives of those who seek to protect it.”

The Guardian responded to Smith’s calls for an investigation into the paper by said: "The high public interest in the stories we have responsibly published is evidenced by the debates, presidential review and proposed legislative reforms in the US congress, throughout Europe and in Westminster. We're surprised that, once again, it is being proposed that terror legislation should be used against journalists."

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