ABC trial
1978 United Kingdom criminal trial / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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R v Aubrey, Berry and Campbell, better known as the ABC Trial, was a trial conducted in the United Kingdom in the 1970s, of three men for offences under the Official Secrets Act 1911. The men were two libertarian journalists of a similar political viewpoint as much of the Labour government, and a resigned GCHQ source seeking to heighten scrutiny of government-authorised wire-tapping and limit the work of the American espionage agency, the CIA, in Britain. These aims were furthered in the following two decades achieved through detailed parliamentary scrutiny into and regular reports as to the work of security services, a Freedom of Information Committee and regulation of wire-tapping. Aside from very limited reportage from the Central Criminal Court, its early analysis comes in the account of one of its investigative-journalist defendants, Duncan Campbell, in the annual journal Socialist Register.
R v Aubrey, Berry and Campbell | |
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Court | Crown Court (specifically sitting at the Central Criminal Court (Old Bailey)) |
Full case name | Regina v. Crispin Aubrey, John Berry and Duncan Campbell |
Decided | 14 and 16 November 1978 |
Transcript(s) | none |
Case history | |
Prior action(s) | none |
Court membership | |
Judge(s) sitting | discharged judge and jury, followed by Mr Justice Mars-Jones and new jury |
Case opinions | |
Decision by | The new jury |