“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.

“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. You have to sign up to view it or you could click here.

I’m a Photographer, Not a Terrorist! – photographernotaterrorist.org

“Press Clippings: I’m a Photographer, Not a Terrorist!” – marcvallee.co.uk

Grant Smith and yours truly being interviewed on BBC News 24 in Trafalgar Square on Saturday 23 January 2010 before 3,000 photographers congregated for the “I’m a Photographer, Not a Terrorist!” Mass Photo Gathering event.

Link.

“A few photographs add up to a minor terror alert” – Paul Lewis, The Guardian.

“From snapshot to Special Branch: how my camera made me a terror suspect” – Paul Lewis, The Guardian.

“We’re photographers, not terrorists” – Marc Vallée, The Guardian.

Last week my friend and colleague Paul Lewis took a walk in the City of London and ended up getting stopped and searched under section 44 of the Terrorism Act.

I wrote a Comment is free about how society’s visual history is under threat.

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – 13.12.09. Joel Titus, youth leader of the English Defence League lunges at a photographer as around fifteen far right protesters attend a demonstration organised by a group called ‘Stop the Islamisation of Europe’ in Harrow on Sunday 13 December 2009 in north-west London, England. Hundreds of police officers surrounded the Harrow Civic Centre car park, Harrow Central Mosque and Harrow and Wealdstone Station to prevent clashes between members of the English Defence League and around 250 anti-fascist campaigners. (Photo by Marc Vallée/marcvallee.co.uk) (c) Marc Vallée, 2009.

“Far right embraces fatwas” – Jason N Parkinson, The Guardian.

“Death threats for journalists covering far right demos” – National Union of Journalists.

On Sunday I covered a protest outside Harrow Central Mosque in north-west London. A group called ‘Stop the Islamisation of Europe’ had called a protest with support from members of the English Defence League (EDL). You can read a BBC News report here and Asim Siddiqui in The Guardian here.

Towards the end of the protest Joel Titus, leader of the EDL youth division, lunged towards me and hit my camera into my face and then ran away.

If you put this into the context of death threats of journalists who cover far right protests, this was not only a thuggish attack of an individual, in full view of police officers, but an attack on press freedom which underpins a free and democratic society.

Update 19.12.09: Joel Titus was arrested on the morning of Thursday 17 December 2009 by Harrow police. It’s my understanding after being questioned and shown CCTV footage of the assault Titus accepted what he had done was wrong and was cautioned for Battery under Section 39 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988.

The Met Press Bureau issued the following statement, “An 18-year-old man from Harrow has been arrested and cautioned following an allegation of common assault.”

The National Union of Journalists will be issuing statement on this next week.

Update 22.12.09: National Union of Journalists statement.

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – 13.12.09. Joel Titus, leader of the EDL Youth Division, strikes photojournalist Marc Vallée as he leaves a protest outside Harrow Mosque on Sunday 13 December 2009. (Photo by Jonathan Warren. (c) Jonathan Warren, 2009. Published here by kind permission of Jonathan Warren.

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – 13.12.09. A CCTV camera in front of Harrow Centre Mosque before a protest organized by the far right ‘Stop the Islamisation of Europe’ group is held on Sunday 13 December 2009 London, England. Hundreds of police officers surrounded Harrow Civic Centre, Harrow Central Mosque and Harrow and Wealdstone Station to prevent clashes between members of the English Defence League and anti-fascist campaigners. (Photo by Marc Vallée/marcvallee.co.uk) (c) Marc Vallée, 2009.

Link: Click here to view more pictures. Click here to view the slideshow.

Clients: Pictures are available for rights managed editorial licensing. High resolution images are available on request.

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – 13.12.09. Members of the English Defence League (EDL) speak to the media on a demonstration organised by a group called ‘Stop the Islamisation of Europe’ in Harrow on Sunday 13 December 2009 in north-west London, England. Hundreds of police officers surrounded the Harrow Civic Centre car park, Harrow Central Mosque and Harrow and Wealdstone Station to prevent clashes between the EDL and around 250 anti-fascist campaigners. (Photo by Marc Vallée/marcvallee.co.uk) (c) Marc Vallée, 2009.

Publication: Lead story of The Independent, 3 December 2009.

“Warning: Do not take this picture” – The Independent.

“In the eyes of the law” – BBC News.

“I’m Photographer Not a Terrorist!” – photographernotaterrorist.org

Over the last two days I have done interviews for The Independent and BBC News on the impact anti-terrorism laws on public photography. I was also asked to go on Channel 4 News and BBC Breakfast. But let’s face it I have a face for radio, so no surprise the TV interviews did not work out – but I was thinking about it!

But seriously, why is the act of making a picture deemed by the state to be so potentially threatening? Why is photography routinely criminalised? Anti-terrorism legislation talks about creating a hostile environment for ‘terrorists’ to operate but the reality is that it has created a hostile environment for public photography. This has had an incredibly detrimental effect on freedom of expression.

Its time for the controversial section 44 to go!

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – 02.04.09. A City of London police inspector orders the media to leave the area as police ‘kettle” protesters outside the Bank of England on Thursday 2 April 2009 in London, England. The police officer ordered members of the media to leave the area for 30 minutes under the threat of arrest by citing Section 14 of the Public Order Act 1986. The protesters had congregated to mark the death of a man who had died on an anti-G20 protest the day before. (Photo by Marc Vallée/marcvallee.co.uk) (c) Marc Vallée, 2009.

“Adapting to Protest – Nurturing the British Model of Policing” – inspectorates.homeoffice.gov.uk

“HMIC press release” – inspectorates.homeoffice.gov.uk

“‘Aggressive’ policing of protests condemned in post-G20 inquiry” – Paul Lewis, The Guardian.

“Journalists on the G20 front line” – Marc Vallée, The Guardian.

My friend and colleague Paul Lewis writes in The Guardian today, “Senior police officers could lose the consent of the British public unless they abandon misguided approaches to public protests that are considered “unfair, aggressive and inconsistent”, an inquiry has found.”

Paul goes on to say, “Denis O’Connor, the chief inspector of constabulary, used a landmark report into public order policing to criticise heavy-handed tactics, which he said threatened to alienate the public and infringe the right to protest.”

Many will welcome the report. But – and its a big but – what impact will this report have on frontline journalists who report and document political dissent in Britain? As the report almost fails to mention photographers and journalists covering protests, I think we will have to wait and see.

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – 18.05.09. Commander Bob Broadhurst at the NUJ Photographers Conference held at the Institute of Education on Monday 18 May 2009 in London, England. (Photo by Marc Vallée/marcvallee.co.uk) (c) Marc Vallée, 2009.

SOUTHPORT, UNITED KINGDOM – 22.11.09. Marc Vallée addresses delegate at the National Union of Journalists Annual Delegate Meeting in Southport on Sunday 22 November 2009. Published here by kind permission of the Jane Hobson. (c) Jane Hobson, 2009.

For the last four days I have been at the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) Annual Delegate Meeting (ADM) in Southport as a delegate from the London Freelance Branch. Yesterday I spoke in favour of Motion 152 on the 1984-85 miners’ strike and how industrial conflict and political dissent is reported.

The motion recognised how the Conservative government mobilised the resources of the state to defeat the strike and the role the media played in this.

I highlighted the stunning photographic account of the miners strike (PDF) by the veteran photojournalist John Harris. Coincidentally John was photographing ADM for the NUJ this year. I also spoke about the attacks by the state on frontline journalists who report and document political dissent and conflict today.

Motion 152 (below) from Leeds Branch was passed.

ADM notes that 2009 is the 25th anniversary of the great miners’ strike of 1984-85 and welcomes the publication by the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom of Shafted: The Media, the Miners’ Strike and the Aftermath.

ADM further recognises that the Conservative government mobilised all of the resources of the state to defeat the strike. With the exception of a few honourable journalists, the media was complicit in this, playing a significant role in the destruction of mining communities and the industry.

ADM recognises that the responsibility for this does not rest with individual journalists and reporters, but with senior editors and news controllers acting on the behest of their owners and controllers. The important exception was local and regional newspapers rooted in mining communities which did often report in a more balanced way.

ADM also notes that during the miners’ strike there were over 70 industrial correspondents and reporters. Now there are, at most, three with a specialist industrial brief.

As trades unionists confront the worst recession since the 1930s, the vital role of journalists on local and regional newspapers being able to report the impact of the economic crisis on jobs and local industry is being undermined by the savage cutbacks in jobs by the big regional newspaper groups.

ADM instructs the NEC to inform other trades unions and the TUC of this situation in order to gain wider trade union support for the campaign to defend jobs and standards in the local and regional media.

I’m on my way to Southport, Merseyside today. I’m a delegate to this year’s Annual Delegate Meeting (ADM) of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ).

Over the next four days delegates will debate motions on press freedom, the future of the media, broadcasting, government policies, equality and lots more.

There are a number of motions which address issues on press freedom, the G20 protests and photographers’ rights. There is a motion from London Central Branch which highlights the investigations I have done for The Guardian on policing and protest, which is nice of them.

The Vice President on the NUJ, Peter Murray, highlighted the media event photographers held outside New Scotland Yard over Section 76 at the beginning of the year in his annual report, which will also be put to the conference.

It’s going to be a busy few days and I’ll be posting a picture each day to sum up my take on events. I’ll also be tweeting my way through the conference – follow the #nujadm hashtag.

You can keep up to date with what is going on via nujadm.org.uk where a team of NUJ students members will be reporting on the conference.

Publication: Lead story of The Guardian, 7 March 2009, plus pages 14 and 15. Link.