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Editors seek press freedom pledges from party leaders

The Society of Editors has issued a challenge to party leaders to demonstrate their commitment to press freedom ahead of the forthcoming election manifesto laumches.

In a letter to all main UK party leaders, the SoE has hit out at what it called an “obsession with surveillance” among politicians called for manifesto commitments to protect the public’s right to know.

The move followed last week’s figures showing the UK has slumped to 40th out of 180 on the world press freedom rankings.

Among the issues the SoE wants to see addressed in the party manifestos are the possible implementation of Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act, which would force publishers who refuse to sign-up to a state-recognised regulator to pay costs in libel cases even if they win.

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The letter states: “On behalf of our members, we are deeply concerned that creeping legislation continues to pose a pernicious threat to press freedom in the UK.

“Ahead of World Press Freedom Day on 3 May 2017 we seek your assurance that the promotion and extension of media freedom in the UK will feature highly on your party’s agenda during the election campaign and that your support for the public’s right to know will be contained in your manifesto.”

On Section 40, the letter said: “While the Society welcomed the Secretary of State’s review of the need for the commencement of Section 40 costs orders in 2016, we remain deeply opposed to the commencement of the legislation on the basis of the clear danger it poses to press freedom and the public’s right to be informed.

“There has been an arduous 300-year battle to achieve a measure of press freedom and freedom of expression in the UK and the current threat of legislation to impinge upon the work of journalists in the UK is having a chilling effect on the country’s reputation both at home and abroad.”

The letter goes on: “As you will no doubt be aware, the recent publication of Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index for 2017 saw the UK once again fall in the rankings to 40th out of 180 countries.

“In the past five years, an obsession with surveillance and attacks on the media by anti-establishment politicians has resulted in a declining state of press freedom which has seen the country slip 12 places in the Index.

“The UK, once considered a bastion of journalistic freedom and a benchmark by which other countries set standards in respect of the freedom of the press, is now considered on the international stage to be significantly less free than countries such as Ghana, South Africa and Chile.

“This is gravely concerning at a time when the UK should be taking an international lead in promoting the value and importance of press freedom and condemning appalling restrictions placed upon freedom of speech such as those currently being witnessed in Turkey.

“The increasing use of surveillance powers to restrict the freedom of the media continues to be under attack from Law Commission proposals to radically increase prison terms for revealing and handling state secrets.

“While the Society has welcomed assurances by the Prime Minister that the freedom of investigative journalists and whistleblowers will not be restricted under the proposals, we remain of the view that it is essential that the government consult more widely on such recommendations.”