The National Union of Journalists in Ireland and the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission on Thursday joined together to condemn new powers which threaten press freedom and the confidentiality of journalists’ sources.
Under Article 13 of the Policing (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 2007, police officers now have extended powers to search and seize documents and computer files kept by journalists.
On the eve of the new powers’ introduction, the NUJ’s Irish secretary Séamus Dooley expressed his concerns in an interview with the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) to mark World Press Freedom Day on Thursday, May 3, titled ‘Fishing Expeditions’ by Security Forces Are Not Acceptable.
He said: ‘The power to seize documents must not be abused and care must be taken to ensure that the right to search is exercised only where there are grounds for suspicion.’
WAN noted: ‘Two prominent cases of homes searches and seizure of documents that occurred in 2003 raised strong protests.
It asked Dooley: ‘There have been instances of journalists’ homes searched by the police in Northern Ireland and equipment and notes were seized in that context.
‘The journalists concerned claimed that these searches were unlawful. Could you tell us about the background and frequency of such cases?
‘What kind of impact do they have on journalists and on their confidential sources?’
Dooley said: ‘There have been sporadic searches notably on the homes of Sunday Times journalist Liam Clarke, Henry McDonald of the Observer and prominent freelance Anthony McIntyre, all occurred in 2003 so in many respects this is not a new or urgent problem.
‘Clarke is most interesting because the raid on his home was subsequently found to be illegal and in a sense the new powers being sought should be viewed in that context.
‘Liam Clarke is the Northern Ireland editor of the Sunday Times. He and his wife Kathryn Johnston are the co-authors of an unofficial biography of Sinn Féin leader Martin McGuinness MP, From Guns to Government.
‘A new paperback edition of the book was published in 2003. It included transcripts of tape recordings of four telephone calls in 1999 and 2001 between Martin McGuinness and Jonathan Powell, chief of staff to Prime Minister Tony Blair; Mo Mowlam MP, at that time Secretary of State for Northern Ireland; Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams MP; and a woman in the USA called Kathleen.
‘The tape recordings were allegedly made by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) at the request of the secret intelligence service, MI5, in which case the decision to tap the telephone of Martin McGuinness, himself a member of Parliament, would have been authorised at the highest political level.
‘On 30th April 2003 two newspapers, the Times and the Sun, published extracts from the transcripts, and the Irish News reproduced them in full. While the publication of the transcripts was embarrassing for the government, it raised no issues of national security.
‘At around 8.30pm that same evening, armed police officers arrived at Liam Clarke and Kathryn Johnston’s home.
‘The police searched the house and took away four computers and large numbers of documents and other items, including list of the journalists’ contacts.
‘The search took some five hours and police officers scrutinised all the documents before deciding what to seize.
‘Many items were seized despite the fact that they had nothing to do with official secrets or national security, and despite the fact that they had come from official sources or, in some cases, were documents that had previously been shown to the police.
‘The manner of the raid was of particular concern to the National Union of Journalists (NUJ).’
The interviewer next asked: ‘With regard to searches and seizures, what is the current situation and trend throughout the United Kingdom and Europe?’
Dooley replied: ‘The general principle applied in European democracies is that searches are carried out on foot of a warrant. Warrants are issued only where there is proven grounds for suspicion and not on the basis of a trawl.’
Asked ‘how are journalists and journalists’ unions reacting to instances of abusive searches and seizures?’ he added: ‘The NUJ is gravely concerned at developments in Northern Ireland.
‘The principle that justice must be administered in public is important. All judicial proceedings must be open and fair.
‘Security forces must apply for search warrants and must do so on contestable grounds. This would enable media organisations to oppose inappropriate applicants and to challenge the basis for applications.
‘At international level the International Federation of Journalists is vigilant in monitoring transgressions.
‘The European Court of Human Rights has upheld the right to protect confidential journalistic sources and the inappropriate seizure of documents and raids on the homes of journalists poses a threat to that right.’
Asked about his main concern over the new legislation covering the north of Ireland, Dooley concluded: ‘The move has its origins in the UK parliament rather than the Northern Ireland Assembly.
‘It would not be acceptable to grant powers of seizure, which take no account of the level of suspicion. The power to seize documents must not be abused and care must be taken to ensure that the right to search is exercised only where there are grounds for suspicion.
‘The NUJ has a particular concern at the abuse of searches because of our past experience of “fishing expeditions” by security forces in raids on the homes of reporters and photographers.
‘We have experienced such behaviour in the past where notebooks were unlawfully seized. There must be an onus on the Security Forces not just to obtain a lawful warrant but also to justify the need for seizure.
‘That need must be based on firmly grounded suspicions. In relation to journalists the NUJ has a particular concern because of the threat to confidential sources posed by searches.
‘The granting of unrestricted powers – far in excess of current anti terror measures in England or Wales cannot be justified at this time and would represent a serious assault on civil liberty.
‘The need for such draconian legislation has not been proven. It is indeed ironic that such a move comes after the Troubles, i.e. the 30-year period of conflict in Northern Ireland, and at a time when the terrorist threat is extremely low.
‘It is difficult to know what the impact on journalists will be, and important not to overstate it. Journalists will certainly have to take greater care in handling sensitive information.
‘It could have an impact on the ability to secure confidential information and on legitimate investigative journalism.
‘A particular area of concern is the work of journalists in Northern Ireland relating to police collusion with paramilitaries.
‘The recent report of the Police Ombudsman highlighted such collusion and there is clearly scope for investigation by journalists. It is not hard to see why the security forces might wish to impede such investigations.’