FEARS have been raised that journalists could be labelled as spies under the UK Government’s new National Security Bill.
A coalition of leading journalism and press freedom organisations has severely criticised the bill, which is currently making its way through Parliament.
Freedom of expression campaign group Index on Censorship alongside the National Union of Journalists, openDemocracy and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) state the overly broad and vague way the bill is currently drafted could see journalists branded as spies and given lengthy jail sentences for simply doing their jobs.
The coalition believes the National Security Bill expands disproportionate and vague powers that target journalists and civil society.
They fear that the new legislation will have a “chilling effect” on investigative journalism and severely deter whistleblowers from highlighting wrongdoing in government.
While the bill seeks to completely overhaul existing “outdated” espionage laws, it does not make explicit that whistleblowers will not be subject to the harsher penalties.
The bill makes clear that those who possess information or documents that may benefit foreign powers will face severe penalties, including life imprisonment.
However, while ministers state that the new measures are not designed to target journalists there is no explicit mention of this in the bill.
As such, the coalition is demanding the introduction of a public interest defence in order to protect those who expose...
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