Former prime minister Sergei Stanishev, leader of the biggest party in opposition, the Bulgarian Socialist Party, has filed a request before Parliament to voluntarily give up his MP's immunity from prosecution following Prosecutor-General Boris Velchev's insistence that he do so, news agencies said on November 4 2009.

By doing so, Stanishev eased legal procedures for lifting his immunity as Parliament will not have to vote on it, as the law requires.

On November 3 Velchev asked Parliament to lift Stanishev's immunity over the investigation into alleged leaking of classified information,  making it the first case of its kind against a former prime minister who had become an MP.

Velchev's office said that Stanishev would be investigated for losing documents and materials containing information that contained state secrets. By so doing, Stanishev made it possible for such information to become public.

The case relates to a recent scandal regarding Stanishev and whether he had, while prime minister, abided by rules on handling classified information.

The scandal erupted when a report carried out by SANS in October 2008 (when Stanishev was still prime minister) was given to new Prime Minister Boiko Borissov in October 2009.

The report was handed to Borissov by Alexei Petrov, former adviser to the former head of SANS Petko Sertov.

Borissov said that Stanishev did not return the report in question to SANS after being sent it, as procedures required. Borissov also said that there were between nine and 10 reports with classified information missing from Cabinet records.

Stanishev, already questioned by prosecutors, has denied the accusations. He said he was ready to give up his immunity and that Velchev had been subject to unprecedented pressure from Borissov and Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov.

On November 4 2009, Sofia city prosecutor Nikolai Kokinov said that Stansihev will not be the only person accused of leaking classified information as there was another person who acted as an intermediary between Stanishev and Petrov in passing on the report.

Bulgarian BTA news agency quoted Kokinov as saying that Petrov did not leak classified information as he just handed out the report to Borissov after receiving it from the intermediary who had access to classified information and was from Stanishev's inner circle as prime minister.

According to Bulgarian-language Dnevnik daily, who quoted its own sources at the General-Prosecutor's Office, SANS former head, Petko Sertov, was the intermediary in question. Sertov who was appointed on his post by Stanishev, resigned after Boiko Borissov took office as Prime Minister. He was sent to a diplomatic posting in Greece.

Speaking on Bulgarian National Television, Kokinov said "now we have a green light to start investigations against Stanishev".