Two Britons have appeared in a London court to answer charges of leaking a sensitive government memo on reported comments by President Bush about bombing the headquarters of the Arab satellite TV channel Al-Jazeera.
Civil Servant David Keogh and former government researcher Leo O'Connor face charges of violating Britain's official Secrets Act that bans such disclosures. The court put off further hearings until January 10th.
Last week, a British newspaper, the Daily Mirror, reported that a leaked British government memo had described a 2004 meeting between Prime Minister Tony Blair and President Bush. The report quoted the memo as saying Mr. Bush discussed plans to bomb al-Jazeera headquarters in Qatar, but that Mr. Blair talked him out of it.
Monday, Mr. Blair denied receiving information about a plot to bomb the station.
The White House has dismissed the report as "outlandish."