UK journalists could be jailed for printing info not ‘in the public interest,’ under new amendments
The new law will be used “simply to silence criticism of the government as it becomes ever more hypocritical and totalitarian,” one critic said.
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/uk-journalists-could-be-jailed-for-printing-info-not-in-the-public-interest-under-new-amendments
Mon Jul 26, 2021 – 4:53 pm EST
SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
By David McLoone
FOLLOW
LONDON, England, July 26, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) – Press freedoms in the U.K. could be stripped back by amendments set to be made to the Official Secrets Act that would render it illegal for journalists to publish leaked information regarding the government that is deemed to “not be in the public interest.”
The current Official Secrets Act, last updated in 1989, makes provisions for whistle-blowers who leak sensitive information that they consider to be in the public interest, distinguishing their actions from espionage. Now, a government consultation from the Home Office has suggested a reform to the legislation that will do away with the distinction, essentially treating such journalists and their sources as spies. The Home Office has also proposed a dramatic increase in prison time for breaking the law, going from two years to a possible fourteen years behind bars.
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