Guardian journalists could face terrorism charges.
British police are examining whether the newspaper's staff should be investigated for terrorism offenses for the way they handled information leaked by American Edward Snowden; one of the main disseminators of the documents, especially in Brazil, was journalist Glenn Greenwald.
By William James and Michael Holden
LONDON, (Reuters) British police are examining whether staff at The Guardian newspaper should be investigated for terrorism offenses over how they handled information leaked by American Edward Snowden, a senior counter-terrorism official in Britain said on Tuesday.
The revelation came after Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger, summoned to testify before a parliamentary inquiry, was accused by lawmakers of aiding terrorists by making highly classified information public and sharing it with other news organizations.
The Guardian is one of several newspapers that have published data leaked by Snowden, a former contractor for the United States' intelligence service, about mass surveillance by the US National Security Agency (NSA) and the British intelligence agency (GCHQ).
Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick, who heads London's Specialist Operations unit, told lawmakers that police are investigating whether any crime has been committed, given that in August Brazilian David Miranda was briefly detained on charges of transporting data for a Guardian journalist.
Security officials say the information provided by Snowden includes details of British espionage and that its disclosure would put lives at risk. Rusbridger told the committee that his newspaper did not publish this information.
"Once we examine the material, it seems possible that some people may have committed crimes," said Cressida. "We have to verify whether they committed crimes or not."
Miranda, partner of journalist Glenn Greenwald, who published the Snowden leaks worldwide, was questioned under anti-terrorism law when he made a stopover at Heathrow Airport in London, en route from Berlin to Rio de Janeiro, and the computer equipment he was carrying was seized.
Members of Parliament told Rusbridger that he had committed an offense under Section 58 of the Terrorism Act, which states that it is a crime to publish or communicate any information about members of the Armed Forces or intelligence services.
Earlier on Tuesday, The Guardian published a letter of support from Carl Bernstein, the American journalist who helped expose the Watergate scandal in the 1970s.
Bernstein, 69, said Rusbridger's appearance before the committee was a "dangerously harmful" attempt by British authorities to shift the focus of the debate away from excessive government secrecy and towards the conduct of the press.
In his testimony, Rusbridger defended his decision to publish the leaked material, saying he used less than 1 percent of the information and kept the rest safe.
(Additional reporting by Freya Berry and Silvia Antonioli)