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UK nuclear whistleblower silenced, then sacked

Mr Amin claimed that he told MI5 and the CIA of his concerns but, he said, they ignored his evidence and told him to drop his inquiries

Fired, but no charges: man accused of being nuclear whistleblower, The Independent, By Mark Hughes,  24 August 2010, A British customs investigator who was accused of leaking classified information about an international nuclear smuggling ring to two US journalists has been dismissed from his job, despite being told that he will not face prosecution under the Official Secrets Act, it was announced yesterday.
Atif Amin, 41, claimed to have discovered evidence in 2000 that Abdul Qadeer Khan, a Pakistani scientist responsible for developing the country’s nuclear arsenal, was involved in establishing Libya’s nuclear programme. Mr Amin claimed that he told MI5 and the CIA of his concerns but, he said, they ignored his evidence and told him to drop his inquiries. The Libyan programme and its involvement with Mr Khan was not exposed and halted until 2003……

Speaking to The Independent yesterday, Mr Amin said: “The only thing I have done is to give an impromptu interview on matters that were already in the public domain. Because of that I have been subjected to a lengthy investigation which was akin to using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. The investigation had no evidence against me, but yet I have now lost a 17-year career. I have been absolutely shafted. Yes my name was in the book, but I cannot stop people writing things about me.”

Joseph Trento, the book’s co-author, added: “It is absolutely outrageous that this man has been dismissed from his job for supposedly helping us to write a book. ……An HMRC spokesman said: “We can confirm that following disciplinary procedures Atif Amin was dismissed for gross misconduct by the department in July 2010.”

Fired, but no charges: man accused of being nuclear whistleblower – Home News, UK – The Independent

August 24, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | secrets,lies and civil liberties, UK | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear weapons