On 21 August the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland wrote an open letter to UK Secretary of State for the Home Department Theresa May expressing concern that recent actions by the UK government may amount to a breach of article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights which protects freedom of expression.
The letter referred to the recent detention in Heathrow Airport of David Miranda, partner of Glenn Greenwald, the Guardian journalist who revealed US surveillance secrets leaked by Edward Snowden under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000. Schedule 7 is a controversial power which allows the police to stop, search and examine any person at a port, airport or international rail terminal without the need for reasonable suspicion that the individual is involved in terrorist activities. The letter also referred to the destruction by the UK authorities of hard drives at the Guardian's offices. The letter stated “These measures, if confirmed, may have a potentially chilling effect on journalists’ freedom of expression as guaranteed by article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.”
Click here to read the letter.
Over the weekend a letter to UK Prime Minister David Cameron by editors of a number of Nordic newspapers was published in the Observer. The editors said that they were concerned that the UK, normally a strong proponent of free speech and democracy, had used anti-terror legislation to “legalise what amounts to harassment of both the paper and individuals associated with it”. The editors also echoed the Council of Europe's concerns, warning that the UK's actions could have global ramifications, undermining the position of the free press throughout the world.” Click here to read the open letter to David Cameron.
The UK Human Rights Blog analyses the Miranda case in more detail and links to other legal blogs and commentary. The key issues are firstly, whether Mr Miranda's activities were concerned with the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism; because secondly, the police's detention of Mr Miranda under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000 would only be lawful if his activities were concerned with those terrorism purposes. Schedule 7 is however very broad and there is concern from commentators about the judiciary's ability to effectively control its use. The legislation's broadness also overlaps and potentially conflicts with European human rights legislation. There are wider press freedom issues at stake too, as noted above. Click here to read a useful and straightforward guide to the Miranda case - "A Guide for the Perplexed Citizen" - and its associated legal issues by University College London Senior Lecturer Jeff King on the UK Constitutional Law Group blog.
Click here to read the UK Human Rights Blog's article analysing the legality of Mr Miranda’s detention and linking to various commentators including Louise Mensch.