Press gang takes to the streets
More than 300 photographers gathered in front of New Scotland Yard on Monday 16 February to protest a new Counter-Terrorism Act that potentially makes it a crime to photograph police officers and armed forces. BJP's Olivier Laurent and Marina Scukina were there to report
© Marina Scukina
Answering the National Union of Journalist's call, in association with BJP, hundreds of photographers, both amateurs and professionals, converged on New Scotland Yard on Monday in defiance of Section 76 of the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008, which targets anyone who take pictures of police officers and armed forces likely to be used by terrorists.
The media event, which lasted more than an hour, saw the NUJ team up with writer Mark Thomas, along with Chris Atkins, who is behind the documentary Taking Liberties, and freelance photographer Marc Vallee to protest the new rule. While the Home Office has maintained that the new law will not threaten photographers, it is feared that police officers could abuse Section 76 to prevent photographers from taking pictures in public places, just as Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 is currently being, according to representative organisations.
The Counter-Terrorism Act 2008, which became law on Monday, amends the Terrorism Act 2000 regarding offences relating to information about members of armed forces, a member of the intelligence services, or a police officer.
The new set of rules, under section 76 of the 2008 Act and section 58A of the 2000 Act, will target anyone who 'elicits or attempts to elicit information about (members of armed forces)... which is of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism'. A person found guilty of this offence could be liable to imprisonment for up to 10 years, and to a fine.
Ed Stearns, the chief press officer for the Metropolitan Police, met with the photographers in front of the New Scotland Yard building and reiterated that 'the Metropolitan Police has continued to train our officers on public photography and we will continue to do so'. He added that photographers could use proper channels to report any abuses and that the police will continue to meet with organisations such as the NUJ to discuss the issue.
However, Vallee explained that the majority of photographers present at the event had previously been the victims of unnecessary checks by police officers and that the situation was getting out of hand. He questioned whether police officers were, in fact, trained on photography rights.
The event also attracted media attention with representatives of the BBC, CNN, The Guardian, Associated Press and Getty Images present to cover it. BJP and other photography magazines were also represented after they called for readers to attend.
'We had a fantastic turnout,' said Thomas, who was himself the target of stop-and-search abuse in September 2007 (see 1854.eu for more details). He added that he was impressed to see so many people challenge the new law from day one, as 'all of us are in peril'.
For more pictures of the event, visit BJP's blog at 1854.eu.
