Last night I was at the launch of Keith Ewing’s new book Bonfire of the Liberties – “a provocative book which confronts the corrosion of civil liberties under successive New Labour governments since 1997.”
I was one of the speakers at this packed out event held at NUJ headquarters along side Jeremy Dear, NUJ general secretary; Henry Porter, novelist and political columnist for The Observer; Dave Smith, from the Blacklist Support Group; Cerie Bullivant, who was on a control order for two years and Pennie Quinton, who took Section 44 to Strasbourg.
Dave Smith’s contribution on blacklisting in the UK construction industry and the attacks on trade unionists was very powerful.
We have to keep an eye on databases of multinationals as much as the states. It is important to defend our Article 11 rights as trade unionists to meet without being put under surveillance and harassed, by either the state or private companies.
The investigations on police surveillance of protesters and journalists as well as the covert state targeting of environmental activists that I worked on with Paul Lewis at The Guardian are mentioned in Ewing’s book which was a nice surprise.
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – 05.03.10. A man wearing a balaclava joins members of the far right English Defence League to demonstrate in support of the controversial Dutch politician Geert Wilders on Friday 5 March 2010 in London, England. Wilders – who has been banned from the UK in the past by the Home Office – had been invited by of the UK Independence party leader Lord Pearson to screen his anti-Islam film at the House of Loads. (Photo by Marc Vallée/marcvallee.co.uk) (c) Marc Vallée, 2010.
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LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – 05.03.10. Anti-fascist campaigns protests against the far right English Defence League and the controversial Dutch politician Geert Wilders on Friday 5 March 2010 in London, England. Wilders – who has been banned from the UK in the past by the Home Office – had been invited by of the UK Independence party leader Lord Pearson to screen his anti-Islam film at the House of Loads. (Photo by Marc Vallée/marcvallee.co.uk) (c) Marc Vallée, 2010.
DERBYSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM – 15.08.09. A tattooed anti-fascist protester – with “Nazi Nick & BNP – you don’t speak for me” written across his vest – near the village of Codnor, Derbyshire, England on Saturday 15 August 2009. Protesters had congregated to protest against a festival organized by the far right British National Party (BNP) on a farm – owned by a BNP member – near Codnor in Derbyshire. (Photo by Marc Vallée/marcvallee.co.uk) (c) Marc Vallée, 2009.
As some of you will know I’m a big fan of Derek Jarman’s films, paintings and writings. He made a huge impact on me when I was at art school. Sixteen years ago today Derek died of an Aids-related illness and I have spent the day at Dungeness on the Kent coast and documented his famous garden for the first time.
DUNGENESS, UNITED KINGDOM – 19.02.10. A general view of Derek Jarman’s garden at Prospect Cottage at Dungeness on the Kent coast on Friday 19 February 2010. Today was the 16th anniversary of Derek Jarman’s death of an Aids-related illness at the aged 52. The filmmaker, artist and writer lived at the famous cottage and created the shingled garden in the latter years of his life in the shadow of the Dungeness nuclear power station. (Photo by Marc Vallée/marcvallee.co.uk) (c) Marc Vallée, 2010.
NEW YORK CITY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 30.07.06. Photographer and skateboarder Andreas Laszlo Konrath on a Williamsburg street in Brooklyn, New York, USA summer 2006. (Photo by Marc Vallée/marcvallee.co.uk) (c) Marc Vallée, 2006.
STOP & SEARCH ONE: Philip Caller being stopped & searched under Section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) at 7.50am on Sunday 7 February 2010 in London, England. Photo by Philip Caller. (c) Philip Caller, 2010. Published here by kind permission of Philip Caller.
On Sunday I got a phone call from London Photographers’ Branch member Philip Caller. Philip told me he had just been stopped & searched 3 times in 45 minutes by the police on a job covering a protest in west London. Philip had been stopped and searched under Section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) and here are the pictures.
Yesterday the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) issued a statement on this. This is what Roy Mincoff the NUJ legal officer had to say:
“This is an example of straightforward harassment which is totally unacceptable in a country which presumes to lecture other regimes on freedom of expression. While we receive assurances from senior police officers and politicians that reporters and photographers will not face interference when carrying out their legitimate work, it is clear that the instructions to junior ranks are still not getting through to all officers.
STOP & SEARCH TWO: Philip Caller being stopped & searched under Section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) at 8.15am on Sunday 7 February 2010 in London, England. Photo by Philip Caller. (c) Philip Caller, 2010. Published here by kind permission of Philip Caller.
STOP & SEARCH THREE: Philip Caller being stopped & searched under Section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) at 8.35am on Sunday 7 February 2010 in London, England. Photo by Philip Caller. (c) Philip Caller, 2010. Published here by kind permission of Philip Caller.
Excellent Blog post by my good friend and colleague Jonathan Warren on the ‘citizen-journalism website and photo agency’ Demotix. As Jonathan writes, “I got an interesting email the other day asking if Demotix is good for distributing work – the short answer: No.”
In the video above from the end of last year you can see Turi Munthe, CEO of Demotix, and I lock horns at The Frontline Club over the impact of ‘citizen journalism’ on photography.
London Photographers Branch website in production. Photo by Jonathan Warren. (c) Jonathan Warren, 2010. Published here by kind permission of Jonathan Warren.
The branch aims to reach out to as many photographers as possible to address the issues we face today. The collapse of the commission market, the fall in picture rates & library percentages, job cuts, questions of ethics, safety and press freedom.
The branch will be tackling all these over the next year but most importantly this is a branch run by photographers, for photographers – it will be member led. Every individual member, staff, freelance and contract will have an equal say.
This is our opportunity to shape the kind of union branch we need and tailor it to photographers’ needs across the sector.
The next meeting will be on Tuesday 23 February 2010 at 6pm in Headland House.
