Five suspects in hunt for MoD ‘mole’ who leaked Defence Secretary's letter

The hunt for the mole who leaked a private letter from Defence Secretary Liam Fox to David Cameron has been narrowed down to about five people, the Standard has been told.

Only about a dozen people at the Ministry of Defence are believed to have seen the letter, which warned of the grave consequences that "draconian" cuts to the military's £37 billion budget would have on the armed forces.

Military police are understood to have narrowed down the number of suspects because the leaked letter was not a final version and was later slightly changed before been signed by Mr Fox.

Prosecution is a possibility but the vast majority of leak inquiries at the Ministry of Defence, and Whitehall more broadly, have a history of failing to find conclusive evidence.

Investigators are thought to be focusing on details of a hard copy of the letter being leaked rather than an electronic version. Only two out of four pages were leaked.

Military police were called into the MoD at about 10.30pm last Tuesday after the Telegraph published details of the leak which warned that the strategic defence and security review was in danger of becoming a "super" comprehensive spending review driven by the Treasury.

MoD officials turned up the following day to find their office cabinets sealed by police tape with about 20 military police rifling through drawers and searching computers and desks.

Mr Fox's private office, as well as those of other defence chiefs who saw the letter, has been searched and staff interviewed.

Military sources have strongly denied suggestions that the Defence Secretary himself leaked the letter.

Mr Cameron today said he had been "frustrated" when the letter was made public. Downing Street insiders expressed far greater anger.

The Prime Minister told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Obviously I was frustrated but there's no point in life getting hugely angry about things that have happened.

"I prefer to concentrate on the reality of the big picture which is there is a discussion going on between the Treasury, who are looking for savings, and the Ministry of Defence, who want a strong defence posture."