EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND – 22.08.10. Around 200 environmental activists in white boiler suits and masks breach police lines at the Royal Bank of Scotland’s headquarters on Sunday 22 August 2010 in Gogarburn. Protesters smashed five large windows with hammers. Police made two arrests (Photo by Marc Vallée/marcvallee.co.uk) (c) Marc Vallée, 2010. All rights reserved.

“Climate Camp is restricting free speech” – Marc Vallée, The Guardian.

I’ve written an article for Environment section of The Guardian on Climate Camp and the media.

Poster.

“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!

Link.

“Journalists win payout after police admit failing to respect press freedom” – Paul Lewis, The Guardian.

“The Met’s apology to journalists is only of value if it acts upon it” – Olly Zanetti, The Guardian.

“Photographers win damages in Met Police legal case” – British Journal of Photography.

“Photographers win human rights victory over police” – Amateur Photographer.

“Police pay damages and apologise to photojournalists” – Press Gazette.

Here is the press round for the Greek Embassy case. Right, now back to work.

Link to PDF.

“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

“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.

“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.

“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.

Link.

Media Release: “Mass Photo Gathering in Defence of Street Photography” – photographernotaterrorist.org

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

Looking forward to seeing you all later today!

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.