Photographers exercise rights
WORKERS, MARCH 2009 ISSUE
In London on 16 February more than 300 photographers exercised their right to take photographs outside Scotland Yard on the day section 76 of the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 became law.
This updates section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000, which states that a person commits an offence if “he collects or makes a record of information of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism…” adding: “‘record’ includes a photographic or electronic record”. The NUJ fears that the law will be used to stop news photographers doing legitimate work and could be used to prevent police officers being photographed at incidents. NUJ vice-president Peter Murray said: “There is a threat of photographers being criminalised just for doing their jobs.”