Chris Patten: the last governor of Hong Kong

Tories Suspicious of Patten Leak Claim

The Government has confirmed that an investigation is going on into whether the former governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten, leaked secret documents to a journalist.

Downing Street has said the police are not involved in the investigation, and that it is an internal Foreign Office matter.

Sir Brian Mawhinney: attacks Labour

How the Press picked up the story

The Shadow Home Secretary, Sir Brian Mawhinney, was sceptical when asked about it on BBC Radio's The World at One.

"Who is the Foreign Secretary?" he asked rhetorically. "Robin Cook. Has Robin Cook been in the news this weekend? Of course Robin Cook has been in the news this weekend and it's understandable that they would want to deflect attention from Mr Cook's private activities."

The suspicions have been fuelled by the way that confirmation of the inquiry came from Labour's chief spin doctor - the Minister Without Portfolio, Peter Mandelson. He said he did not know whether Mr Patten would be prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act.

"All I know is that the issue - the matter, rather than the individual - is under investigation by the authorities," Mr Mandelson told the BBC. "That will be done in a proper, objective and authoritative way."

Lord Steel on the Today programme: "It is a very bizarre story" Dur: 3'40"

Mr Patten is on holiday and has not responded to the allegations.

The Foreign Office is saying it has no comment to make, but on Sunday senior Whitehall sources confirmed that an investigation was under way into whether intelligence reports were passed to the journalist, Jonathan Dimbleby, while he was writing his book on the handover of Hong Kong to China. The journalist and broadcaster has said that he will not discuss his sources.

Journalist Jonathan Dimbleby is said to have received intelligence reports

Lord Howe, the former Foreign Secretary, and a critic of Mr Patten's tactics over Hong Kong, denied he was behind the inquiry.

"I have no vested interest in undermining Chris Patten," he said.

"Chris Patten and I had quite clear disagreements about the best policy to follow to advance democracy in Hong Kong, but we both wanted to do that. We differed as to the methods of doing it. But I should welcome Chris Patten's return to domestic politics," he told BBC Radio 4's PM programme.

Lord Howe denies all knowledge of any inquiry on the BBC's PM programme Dur: 3'21"

The investigation is said to have been launched after the Sunday Times published extracts from Mr Dimbleby's book, The Last Governor, on Mr Patten's five-year term in office. In that book, the journalist describes how Chris Patten was furious about a "gentlemen's understanding" between Britain and China to renege on promises given to Hong Kong about direct elections.

There has been long-standing antagonism between certain sections of the Foreign Office and Mr Pattern over his stance on the democratisation of Hong Kong before the handover.