Leak of terror hotline tipper's name probed

SYDNEY - Federal authorities are investigating leaks that allowed the personal details of an informant who gave crucial tips to the national terror hotline to be released to the Australian newspaper.

The man said his details had been included on a search warrant left at a home searched by counter-terrorism police, allowing the newspaper to identify his business and name.

Attorney-General Philip Ruddock told Southern Cross Radio the Government was treating the claims as serious issues of national security.

The man said he called the hotline to report someone who was trying to buy a large quantity of chemicals.

He also later gave a statement to the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.

He told Southern Cross Broadcasting yesterday that, after last week's counter-terrorism raids, he was approached by a reporter from The Australian.

"They said they had a copy of the search warrants and on the search warrants it stated the people's name they were searching, what goods they were looking for and the name of the people who'd given information ... [to] the hotline," said the informant, who called himself "Jeff".

"And copies of those warrants were left with one of those people who were raided."

Counter-terrorism officials have also been concerned by weekend reports of a Muslim "supergrass" who had passed important information about the alleged terror group to authorities.

He was identified by his real first name, Ahmad, and by the pseudonym Abu Jihad, and was described as a 23-year-old convert to Islam who had trained at al Qaeda's Faruq camp in Pakistan in 2001.

The reports said the informer had been named by jailed American Taleban fighter John Lindh, who told the Federal Bureau of Investigation he had trained with Abu Jihad and David Hicks, the Australian about to face terrorism charges before a United States military court at Guantanamo Bay.

Meanwhile, Australia's senior police chief said yesterday that he supported a plan to create a regional counter-terror task force to track extremists throughout Southeast Asia.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty is to address a summit of Southeast Asian police chiefs in Jakarta this week.

Indonesian counter-terrorism authorities will seek agreement from neighbouring countries to establish a regional force, the Australian reported. "It's up to the Indonesians and the other [Southeast Asian] police chiefs as to what initiatives they want to bring forward and what they finally agree to," Keelty told ABC radio.

"But we would support a team being put together to look at, particularly, the areas where there's cross-border movement of people who are suspected terrorists, who have been under investigation by our joint teams.

"Something like a joint effort or a collaborative effort would be a good outcome."

Keelty said such a project would build on existing arrangements, such as the Jakarta Centre for Law Enforcement Co-operation, which already involves Australia, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Australia committed A$38 million ($40.93 million) to the centre last year and has provided 20 police and Government lawyers to staff it.

"Clearly, what we want to do is look at two things: Are we providing the proper response today for the problems we face today, and what are the problems of the future and how do we best respond to those?" Keelty said.

"And what's the capacity of the police to do that and are the police the only agency that needs to be involved in this?"

Ruddock said that Australia wanted to build stronger counter-terror links within the region.

"Obviously it's important to us to have the best available intelligence arrangements within the region and to improve the capacity and to ensure that the laws a seamless."

- STAFF REPORTER, AAP