“Victory Flashmob – Section 44 is Dead!” – londonphotographers.org
“Campaigners claim victory over Stop & Search ruling” – PhotographerNotaTerrorist.org
Looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow. First round is on the Met!
July 3rd, 2010
July 1st, 2010
“Police use of protest photos will face review” – The Financial Times.
Here is a link to an article by Michael Peel, FT Legal Correspondent; James Boxell, FT Home Affairs Correspondent and yours truly in The Financial Times today on police surveillance. Do you want to know what a left-wing Labour MP, the deputy Prime Minister’s ‘interfaith and extremism’ adviser and maybe you have in common? If so then read on or pick up a copy.
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – 02.05.08. A civilian police photographer films and photographs working journalists outside City Hall on Friday 2 May 2008 in London, England. (Photo by Marc Vallée/marcvallee.co.uk) (c) Marc Vallée, 2008.
June 25th, 2010
“Victory for NUJ members, human rights and press freedom” – nuj.org.uk
“Police pay damages to journalists for breaching their right to report” – bindmans.com
“A Victory for Press Freedom” – londonphotographers.org
Jason Parkinson and I have won our Greek Embassy case against the Metropolitan Police. This is a significant victory for press freedom.
Here is the police apology in full:
“On 8 December 2008 well-respected political journalists Marc Vallée and Jason Parkinson were reporting a protest outside the Greek Embassy, Holland Park, London. The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has accepted liability for breach of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The MPS apologise for this and have paid compensation. The MPS confirms its recognition that freedom of the press is a cornerstone of democracy and that journalists have a right to report freely. The MPS recognise that on 8 December 2008 they failed to respect press freedom in respect of Mr Vallée and Mr Parkinson.”
Click here for the full NUJ press release.
Past blog posts:
“Journalists launch civil action against police” – marcvallee.co.uk/blog
“Police to investigate Greek embassy incident” – marcvallee.co.uk/blog
“Video: Journalists obstructed at Greek Embassy protest” – marcvallee.co.uk/blog
“Can I have my lens hood back officer?” – marcvallee.co.uk/blog
May 22nd, 2010
“Coalition has no interest in protecting the right to strike” – Marc Vallée, The Guardian.
Here is a Comment is free for Liberty Central by yours truly on the right to strike, civil liberties and press freedom. This Roy Greenslade piece is also worth taking a look at.
April 14th, 2010
“Speaking up for press freedom” – Marc Vallée, The Guardian.
Here is my Comment is free on last nights Hostile Reconnaissance – Terror Laws, Civil Liberties and Press Freedom rally organised by the London Photographers’ Branch of the National Union of Journalists.
Do we need a press freedom bill?
A legal definition of who is a journalist is problematic but both news gathering and journalism need legal protection.
For me a press freedom bill would not be about giving individual journalists more legal protection then any other citizen. What it could do is give the act of news gathering legal protection. The film footage by a New York fund manger of the attack on Ian Tomlinson at the G20 in London last year by a TSG police officer was a very important act of news gathering by a member of the public who was not a journalist.
In the hands of Paul Lewis and The Guardian that film footage become journalism. The police did visit The Guardian office to put pressure on The Guardian to remove the film from its website. Thankfully The Guardian stood up to this pressure. Legal protection in that context would be a step forward.
We have a common law right to take a picture in a public place. Court rulings over privacy, counterterrorism laws and police action threaten that common law right. I would like that right to be protected for all.
Updated: 15.04.10.
April 13th, 2010
“Hostile Reconnaissance – Terror Laws, Civil Liberties & Press Freedom” – London Photographers’ Branch of the NUJ.
The Hostile Reconnaissance rally is tonight! Very much looking forward to it. I will be speaking along side Jeremy Dear, General Secretary National Union of Journalists; Paul Lewis, Guardian journalist & British Press Awards Reporter of the Year 2010; Keith Ewing, Professor of Public Law at King’s College London & author of Bonfire of the Liberties; Henry Porter, Observer columnist, author & London editor of Vanity Fair and Chez Cotton, Head of Action Against the Police at Bindmans Solicitors & a co-ordinator of the Police Action Lawyers Group.
Click here for more information.
April 8th, 2010
“Hostile Reconnaissance – Terror Laws, Civil Liberties & Press Freedom” – London Photographers’ Branch of the NUJ.
I’m one of the speakers at the London Photographers’ Branch pre-election rally next week along with Jeremy Dear, General Secretary National Union of Journalists; Paul Lewis, Guardian journalist & British Press Awards Reporter of the Year 2010; Keith Ewing, Professor of Public Law at King’s College London & author of Bonfire of the Liberties; Henry Porter, Observer columnist, author & London editor of Vanity Fair and Chez Cotton, Head of Action Against the Police at Bindmans Solicitors & a co-ordinator of the Police Action Lawyers Group.
Hostile Reconnaissance: Terror Laws, Civil Liberties & Press Freedom at 7pm on the 13th of April at Friends Meeting House in Euston.
Click here for more information.
March 25th, 2010
“Hostile Reconnaissance – Terror Laws, Civil Liberties & Press Freedom” – London Photographers’ Branch of the NUJ.
The London Photographers’ Branch of the NUJ is holding a pre-election rally on Terror Laws, Civil Liberties & Press Freedom at 7pm on the 13th of April at Friends Meeting House in Euston.
Click here for more information.
March 12th, 2010
“Your 10 questions for would-be MPs” – Henry Porter, The Guardian.
“Ten reasons to feel uneasy” – Anthony Barnett, opendemocracy.net
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.
March 8th, 2010
“Photographer and investigative journalist Marc Vallée on protests, breaking stories and police poundings” – ideastap.com
The nice folks at Ideas Tap interviewed me last week about my work and here it is.