British Prime Minister Theresa May has secretly ordered a clampdown on unauthorized leaks by ministers and civil servants, a leaked document shows.
May warned that culprits would face immediate dismissal even if no threat is posed to national security, according to a memorandum leaked to the British news media on Sunday.
She asked security chiefs to seize mobile phone and email records of people suspected of disclosing government splits or secrets which are of acute sensitivity.
In a note leaked by enraged insiders, who called the crackdown “quasi totalitarian,” Cabinet Secretary Sir Jeremy Heywood informed senior officials of May’s order to tighten security in Whitehall.
The note, dated November 28 and marked Official-Sensitive, Jeremy referred to a “spate of leaks and unauthorized briefings” that surfaced in the press on Brexit, the US elections and the annual Autumn Statement.
“The Prime Minister has directed that we urgently tighten…