Former MI5 agent Mr David Shayler today lost the first round of his legal battle for the right to plead he acted in the public interest.
Mr Shayler - facing trial at the Old Bailey accused of breaching the British Official Secrets Act by leaking documents to a Sunday newspaper three years ago - had argued his right to a fair hearing under human rights laws would be breached if he were not allowed to run the defence.
But trial judge Mr Justice Moses ruled it was not open to him to assert that disclosure of documents or information without lawful authority was or may have been necessary in the public interest.
Mr Shayler is to appeal against the ruling, which means his trial will not start until November.
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