Ian Burrell
The Independent
September 23, 2011
Broadcasting vehicles surrounded by mobs and wrecked, a radio van burnt out, a presenter pelted with bottles, and numerous reporters and photographers beaten and robbed of cameras, laptops and phones. These were the journalistic casualties of August’s riots.
Last night fears were expressed that the reporting of public disturbances in Britain would become even more dangerous, following the revelation that three leading broadcasters and at least one national newspaper have been forced by police to hand over hundreds of hours of unbroadcast footage and photographs of the riots. Scotland Yard has used court orders to obtain material from the BBC, ITN, Sky News and The Daily Telegraph.
The Metropolitan Police said: “The police are identifying people through pictures, CCTV and through the media to ensure that people are brought to justice. We would ask the media to work with the police to ensure that happens.”
It is rare for news organisations to hand over such material and when it has been requested by police in the past it has been challenged through the courts. The development could be seen as a further blow to the British media. Scotland Yard recently used the Official Secrets Act to try to compel journalists to hand over their sources and Lord Justice Leveson is preparing his inquiry into press standards in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal.
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