Alan Lodge's Blog

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Priti Patel has refused to criticise the arrest of a journalist for photographing a peaceful protest outside a controversial asylum centre, despite the case being dropped.

In the Commons, the home secretary was urged to review police guidance following the detention of Andy Aitchison and agree that he “should have a clean record as he has committed no offence”.

Instead, Ms Patel appeared to back the arrest – before claiming she could not comment further for legal reasons, even though the journalist will face no further action.

“All decisions on arrests are an operational matter for the police, and the police make arrests in line with their duties to keep the peace and to protect the community,” she told MPs.

Read more

• ‘It’s censorship’: Journalist arrested after photographing protest outside controversial asylum camp

The arrest of Mr Aitchison, first reported by The Independent, after he shared photos of the demonstration outside Napier military barracks in Kent, which now houses asylum seekers, sparked fears over press freedom.

Protesters held up signs saying “Close Napier now” and “Priti Patel There will be blood on your hands” after at least 120 men at the barracks tested positive for Covid-19.

Six hours later, five police officers arrived at Mr Aitchison’s nearby home and arrested him, in front of his children, on suspicion of criminal damage.

A media freedom alert was filed with the Council of Europe and submissions have been made to the UN special rapporteur on human rights over Mr Aitchison’s treatment.

During Home Office questions, the Conservative MP Damian Collins, who represents the constituency where Mr Aitchison lives, raised his case, highlighting how the photographer was “held for questioning for seven hours”.

“The police confiscated his mobile phone and photo camera card and last Friday the charges were dropped and case closed,” he said.

He asked Ms Patel to “agree there should be a review of the guidance given to the police before action like this is taken against accredited journalists” – and that Mr Aitchison had “committed no offence”

In reply, the home secretary said it was a matter for Kent Police, before claiming: “I’m afraid, at this stage, that’s all I can say because an arrest has been made.”

Ducking the call for new guidance, she told Mr Collins: “I have no doubt that Kent Police will continue to keep all interested parties, including my right honourable friend, updated.”

Read more

• Case dropped against journalist arrested after taking photos of protest outside controversial asylum camp
• Priti Patel says government should have closed borders last March to stop coronavirus
• Priti Patel accused of dodging parliament over police computer record loss
• Lockdown: Priti Patel unable to define ‘local’ in tangled defence of Boris Johnson’s bike ride

Mr Aitchison told The Independent he was “disappointed” by Ms Patel’s response and her refusal to commit to a “much needed” review of guidance for police in handling accredited journalists.

“She does not seem to acknowledge the significance of my unlawful arrest. She seems to suggest that my arrest was in line with keeping the peace and protecting communities, which is obviously untrue as I was merely doing my job and documenting a peaceful protest,” he said.

“I am concerned that the wrongful arrest of journalists reporting on sensitive issues will continue. This seems to be a repetitive issue for many journalists, particularly photojournalists, and it has to stop.  

“The freedom to report seems even more pertinent during a lockdown where people are unable to move about freely.”

Criticism has been mounting about conditions at the Ministry of Defence site since it was repurposed in September for housing hundreds of asylum seekers.

Residents have been banned from leaving the camp since mid-January because of the Covid outbreak, and the protest came before a fire that Ms Patel suggested was started deliberately.

Ian Murray, director of the Society of Editors, criticised the police action, saying: “We are constantly told journalists, including press photographers, are an essential part of our democratic system in this country and a free media is to be protected.

“But words are not enough. It is actions that count and arresting press photographers is not something that should be happening in a liberal democracy.”

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/priti-patel-journalist-asylum-centre-protest-b1799294.html

https://www.nuj.org.uk/news/nuj-calls-on-journalists-to-back-foi-campaign-with-subject

or more accurately, avoiding the issues …….

Damian Collins MP, formerChair of the House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, speaking in the House of Commons to the Home Secretary : “Would my right honourable friend agree there should be a review of the guidance given to the police before action like this is taken against accredited journalists”

Book Layouts : An Assortment

“The Carousel Tapes, Podcast!! A series of conversations with the creative people that work with The Carousel. Check out the first episode with photographer Alan Lodge aka. Tash here.. https://www.thecarousel.co.uk/tct

Under new government proposals, police in the UK will be allowed to seize homes and arrest Travellers who refuse to move from unauthorised camps. A new law which effectively criminalises intentional trespass and imposes sentences of up to three months and fines of up to £2,500 will disproportionately affect Travellers, who are recognised as an ethnic group under the Race Relations Act.

Police will direct Travellers to leave sites on which they have no permission to stay, even when there are no alternative stopping places for them. The number of caravans that’s deemed to constitute an unauthorised encampment has been reduced in the new proposal from six to two.

The government justified the legal change in a 2019 consultation paper, which described the need to respect the “feelings” of the local settled community, business owners and landowners. This explanation would seem to ignore the feelings of people who don’t conform to this very narrow definition of the British public. So why is the government changing the law? And why now?

The European Court of Human Rights has long recognised the right to live in a caravan home as a fundamental component of British Gypsy identity. This is protected by the right to a home life under Article 8 of the human rights convention – effective in UK courts under the Human Rights Act 1998. Nevertheless, many Travellers have found it impossible to continue their way of life in the UK due to the absence of authorised stopping places.

The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 removed the statutory duty on local authorities to provide stopping places for Gypsies. At the time, I reviewed responses to the consultation paper and found that farmers, the police and landowners were overwhelmingly opposed to abolishing the duty. Why? Because they worried it would actually create rather than reduce trespass.

An obvious solution to unauthorised encampments would be a return to this statutory duty. Not only would it be cheaper, as there’d be less enforcement involved and fewer legal challenges, but it would help make damage to public land and antisocial behaviour, such as dumping rubbish and damaging fences, less likely. Much of this currently happens because of deliberate obstacles placed in the way of access points to land and the absence of public amenities on these unauthorised sites. Most importantly, it would protect the rights of Travellers and enable families to access public services.

The government is currently leading a public consultation on unauthorised encampments. A freedom of information request by the campaign group Friends, Families and Travellers revealed that 84% of police respondents didn’t support criminalising these encampments and 94% called for providing sites as the solution. This echoes the reasoning of Sir Stephen Sedley, then a high court justice, in a legal challenge to planning provisions in 1995.

Another explanation for unauthorised encampments is the difficulties that Travellers face in obtaining planning permission on their own land. In one case heard by the European Court of Human Rights, it was reported that 90% of applications made by Gypsies in the UK were refused, compared to an average of 20% for other planning applications. The most recent official count found 2,049 caravans on land owned by Travellers that had not obtained planning permission.

A hostile environment

It’s difficult to understand why criminalising families and confiscating their homes should be a priority, especially during a pandemic. The official count of Gypsy caravans in January 2020 found a mere 3% of Gypsy and Traveller caravans in England were in unauthorised encampments. Rather than being a growing concern, this marked a decline of 20% from the previous count in January 2019.

Powers already exist under sections 61-62E of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 to allow officers to direct those in an unauthorised encampment to leave land if their encampment consists of six or more vehicles or the landowner has asked them to move and they’ve caused damage or been abusive. The police can also direct an encampment of at least one caravan to move where the local authority can provide a pitch elsewhere.

In legal cases brought by Travellers contesting evictions and planning rules, such as Chapman and Connors, the European Court of Human Rights observed that the vulnerability of this community meant that special consideration should be given to their needs. Since the decisions of this court must be taken into account by British courts under section 2 of the Human Rights Act 1998, it’s very likely that criminalising trespass will lead to future legal challenges.

These proposals will almost certainly conflict with the human rights of Travellers – but they’re also likely to be unworkable for those given the job of enforcing them. While heaping more misery on some of the UK’s most vulnerable communities, criminalising trespass will also exacerbate conflict with settled residents. As Justice Sedley noted, respecting Travellers’ way of life is about respecting our common humanity.

https://theconversation.com/criminalising-trespass-will-hurt-travellers-most-but-government-proposals-fail-on-their-own-terms-153749

A Slideshow 60mins. 400pics Festivals, Travellers, Stonehenge, Glastonbury, Free Party, Policemen and …….. >>

to everything else ….

https://alanlodge.co.uk/hub

Andy Aitchison, arrested for ‘criminal damage’ after photographing peaceful demonstration, says he is relieved but raises concern about press freedom

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/journalist-arrest-napier-barracks-kent-andy-aitchison-b1798378.html

Stories cover recent arrests of photographers covering events.

I know there is covid- regs at the moment …. but his is such an ongoing story of police restriction on photographers covering their legitimate activities.:

’twas ever thus!

Arrest of photographer at Kent protest raises press freedom fears
Andy Aitchison tells Guardian of concerns after being held in custody for seven hours

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/jan/30/arrest-of-photographer-at-kent-protest-raises-press-freedom-fears

I know there was probably considered to be a ‘covid dimension’ [ie key worers etc] to this, but I think police do yet again, need reminding of guidelines we’ve go to so much trouble to educate and inform.

and ….

https://1gov.uk/uk-police-just-arrested-two-journalists-in-one-week
Denise Laura Baker was arrested on Saturday 30 January as she attempted to cover the police evicting anti-HS2 activists from their protest tower in Euston.

NUJ supports photographer arrested for covering protest
https://www.nuj.org.uk/news/nuj-supports-photographer-arrested-for-covering-protest/

New committee for journalists’ safety promises national action plan as first priority
https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/national-committee-for-the-safety-of-journalists-john-whittingdale/

Kent police must be investigated after seizing photographer’s phone and memory card, says the NUJ. 5 February 2021
https://www.nuj.org.uk/news/kent-police-must-be-investigated-after-seizing-photographers

Case dropped against journalist arrested after taking photos of protest outside controversial asylum camp
Andy Aitchison, arrested for ‘criminal damage’ after photographing peaceful demonstration, says he is relieved but raises concern about press freedom
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/journalist-arrest-napier-barracks-kent-andy-aitchison-b1798378.html

Holders of other cards, such as the notorious ‘English Press Association’, have been given short shrift.
Here an example at a right-wing …. left-wing gig in Nottingham city centre.

I am a UKPCA card holder and hence you see me given access. The police did give proper access to those holding NUJ press card that day….. and you can see me gadding about here, being given such access.

In every country, journalists perform a vital function in highlighting injustice, exposing corruption and holding Governments to account.

A free media is one of the essential bulwarks of a free society. However, too often, journalists are subject to intimidation, violence, imprisonment and sometimes even murder.

One year ago, the UK Government hosted the first Global Conference on Media Freedom and called upon countries to do more to protect media freedom and journalists’ safety.

Sadly, since then, the number of journalists imprisoned or killed has continued to rise. Even in the UK, we have seen worrying incidents of journalists being threatened or abused.

In May I joined the National Union of Journalists, the Society of Editors and others in condemning threats made against journalists working for three Belfast-based newspapers. Today I will co-chair, with the Minister for Safeguarding in the Home Office, Victoria Atkins, the first meeting of the new National Committee for the Safety of Journalists.

It will bring together representatives from the police, prosecuting authorities, NGOs, the BBC and press organisations.

Our first priority will be to devise a National Action Plan on the Safety of Journalists and set out what steps are currently being taken and can be taken in future so we can better protect journalists from violence or threats.

Nobody should have to fear for their safety when doing their job. The Committee will invite journalists to share their experiences and I look forward to hearing from and working with them.

The importance of their role in society cannot be overstated. The Covid-19 pandemic and the rise of misinformation we have seen over the past few months has demonstrated the value of accurate information and trusted news sources in times of crisis.

But the sad and shocking examples of journalists being targeted or attacked for simply doing their jobs, for example while reporting on protests, or the developing Covid-19 crisis, is completely unacceptable.

The UK is not without reproach, and while we don’t face the same challenges as some other countries, we must be proactive in creating a safer environment for journalists to work.

This Committee has a domestic focus, but observers have been invited to attend meetings to provide insight into the safety challenges facing journalists operating overseas.

I am pleased that representatives of UNESCO and the International Federation of Journalists are also attending as well as Lord Ahmad, Minister of State in the Foreign Office. I hope that by demonstrating our commitment to the safety of journalists then others will follow.

John Whittingdale (pictured) is Minister for Media and Data.

Kent police has returned the mobile phone and camera memory card to Andy Aitchison, who was arrested while covering a protest at Napier Barracks, Folkestone.

The freelance photographer was supported by the NUJ and Bindmans law firm following his arrest and confiscation of journalistic material. He was kept in a police cell for seven hours despite him clearly attending the demonstration, to publicise the treatment of asylum seekers, as a member of the press.

His arrest caused huge concern from members of the union, the News Media Association and questions were asked in the House of Commons of the Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden. Andy was offered support from his local MP Damian Collins.

Seamus Dooley, NUJ assistant general secretary, said:

“The NUJ welcomes the return of the property but remains deeply disturbed by the actions of the Kent police. Our member was treated in an unacceptable manner. The police force’s behaviour must be fully investigated as it is at variance with the strong cooperation in many areas where the police recognise the legitimate role the media and the special status of journalists who present the UK press card.”

Kate Goold, partner at Bindmans, said:

“It is of great concern when the police arrest journalists and photographers for simply doing their job and has a chilling effect on press freedom. Public interest journalists are essential to our democracy to document and publicise events as they unfold, especially during Covid lockdown when the public cannot witness such protests themselves. Through the support of the NUJ, we were able to act swiftly to ensure that Mr Aitchison had no further action taken and his phone and memory card returned, without the police viewing this confidential journalistic material.”

Andy Aitchison said:

“Today I received a call from the arresting police officer on my case. She said that I had been refused charges as there was no evidence to charge me with criminal damage and that my bail conditions were cancelled. I attended the police station to retrieve my equipment and when asked for ID I again showed my NUJ press card.

“The NUJ has been fantastic with their support during a week of my life which has been a very tricky time for me and my family. I cannot thank them enough and for working with Bindmans one of the top solicitors in their field to ensure I received the best legal support possible.

“I’m in discussion now with the legal team about what should be my next move with my case but will continue to discuss things regularly with the NUJ. Their advocacy as well as support has been immense, to have a question put to a minister about my arrest in the House of Commons just blew me away!”

NUJ supports photographer arrested for covering protest/

TAGS: , photographers, andy aitchison, bindmans, journalist material, kent police, press card, press freedom

https://www.nuj.org.uk/news/kent-police-must-be-investigated-after-seizing-photographers/