Birmingham Six journalist hearing must be held in public, says SoE
This week’s upcoming hearing at the Old Bailey to challenge the use of anti-terrorism legislation to force journalist and former MP Chris Mullin to reveal confidential sources relating to his investigations into the 1974 IRA Birmingham pub bombings must not be held in private, the Society of Editors has warned.
Speaking ahead of the hearings scheduled on Thursday and Friday (24 and 25 February) of this week, the Society has responded to reports that West Midlands Police has made submissions asking for Friday’s hearing to be held in private. The Guardian reported on Tuesday that the reason cited for the submission was the need to protect the privacy of a suspect whose name may be mentioned in court who has not been charged. This privacy consideration follows the ruling in last week’s Supreme Court Bloomberg v ZXC case that a person under criminal investigation has ‘a reasonable expectation’ of privacy prior to charge. The Bloomberg ruling has been heavily criticised by the Society of Editors.
The decision to move to ban reporters from Friday’s hearing is a “grave threat to press freedom” and goes against the principle of open justice, the Society of Editors has warned.
Dawn Alford, Executive Director of the Society said: “The decision to move to ban reporters from Friday’s hearing at the Old Bailey is deeply worrying given the immense public interest in Mullin’s upcoming challenge. As warned by the Society following last week’s Bloomberg Supreme Court ruling, legitimate public interest journalism is at risk of going unreported if privacy considerations continue to take precedent over the public’s right to know.
“Not only is it essential that the actions of the police in this case are open to public scrutiny, but the case also threatens one of the most important and fundamental principles of journalism codes of conduct. At a time when the government is currently consulting on enabling statutory provisions for the protection of journalists’ sources in a Bill of Rights, the decision by West Midlands Police to pursue this order against Mullin in pursuit of his sources is a grave threat to press freedom.
“What is even more worrying than the decision to use anti-terrorism powers to pressure a journalist is the prospect that the challenge may take place behind closed doors without journalistic scrutiny. It is essential on behalf of all reporters and their future ability to protect their sources and enable public interest journalism to continue that this challenge is held in public.”
It is understood that alongside The Guardian, the Daily Mail and The Times also plan to challenge the attempt to have the hearing held in private.
Mullin, a former MP for Sunderland South, was instrumental in exposing the miscarriage of justice suffered by the Birmingham Six who were convicted of the bombings in 1975. In 1986, Mullin published a book, Error of Judgement: The Truth About the Birmingham Bombings which contributed to the release of the wrongly convicted group in 1991.
Mullin, supported by the National Union of Journalists, is challenging the production order later this week on the basis that disclosing the material requested would be a fundamental breach of the principle that journalists are entitled to protect their sources.
Mullin said: “If West Midlands Police had carried out a proper investigation after the bombings, instead of framing the first half-dozen people unlucky enough to fall into their hands, they might have caught the real perpetrators in the first place. It is beyond irony. They appear to have gone for the guy who blew the whistle.”
Meta launches Journalist Safety Guide
With journalists frequently using Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp to do their jobs, Meta has launched a Journalist Safety Guide to assist reporters in ensuring that their information and accounts are secure.
The resource offers Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp specific guidance and covers areas such as Facebook security checkup tools, journalist registration, enabling two-factor authentication, controlling privacy settings across platforms and identifying suspicious links on WhatsApp. The tool also offers guidance on reporting abusive content and impersonation and online bullying and harassment.
The Safety Guide can be accessed and downloaded here.
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In recognition of the important work of the UK news media, the Society is now showing a selection of daily national and regional front pages every weekday morning via its Twitter and LinkedIn accounts. To submit a front page for inclusion in the next day’s edition, please email claire.meadows@societyofeditors.org. e NCTJ, Ellis Palmer, Journalist at the BBC, Sophia Warner, C4 Pundit and 2012 Paralympian and many more.
Hosted at The News Building, the conference will also be streamed free for anyone wishing to attend with key talks, and clips available on the Disability Journalism Forum’s social media channels afterwards.
The keynote speech will be delivered by award-winning Times columnist, Melanie Reid MBE, writer of The Saturday Times Magazine’s Spinal Column and author of The World I Fell Out Of.
Dominic Carter, Group Chief Commercial Officer said: “Alongside the wider industry, we want to learn how to be better equipped to recruit and retain people with disabilities, and to take learnings from experts, as we continue to develop our products to make them accessible to all.
“This forum will enrich our business, and beyond, with the knowledge to foster new talent and insight into how to make the media more accessible than ever.”
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