WikiLeaks prosecutors accept plea

The US government will accept an army private’s guilty plea to a lesser version of one of the 22 counts he faces for sending more than 700,000 classified US documents to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks, a military prosecutor said during a pre-trial hearing today.

But prosecutors still will try to convict Pfc Bradley Manning at his trial next month of other serious offences, including aiding the enemy, which carries a maximum life sentence.