Student cleared over MI6 'leak' 'secrets' charges

Special Branch has dropped charges under the Official Secrets Act against Julie-Ann Davies, the Kingston University student arrested in March.

Special Branch has dropped charges under the Official Secrets Act against Julie-Ann Davies, the Kingston University student arrested in March.

A supporter of the renegade MI5 officer David Shayler, Ms Davies had been interviewed by officers investigating the leak of a top-secret MI6 report on to the internet. Yesterday she said: "My lawyer Gareth Peirce received a letter dated yesterday - the day David returned from France - saying the charges had been dropped."

Ms Davies, aged 35, who has been on police bail since March, said yesterday she was angry at her "callous" treatment by the police and was consulting her lawyer about legal action against them. "I still do not know what it is I am supposed to have done. I have not heard from Special Branch since I was first interviewed in March," she said. "The arrest has wrecked my university career. I have been suffering from depression since the arrest, and then they drop the matter without any explanation."

She said she would continue to support David Shayler and campaign for reform of the Official Secrets Act.