PressU.K. newspapers complain government "conflating terrorism and journalism"
The U.K. government, relying on the Terrorism Act 2000, has recently taken actions against several newspapers, culminating the 18 August detention at Heathrow Airport of David Miranda. Miranda is the companion of Glenn Greenwald, the Guardian’s journalist who broke the Snowden story, and the security services believed Miranda, a Brazilian, was transporting Snowden-related material with him. He was detained and questioned for nine hours.
The Edward Snowden has sparked a conversation on what legal bounds limit, or should limit, the U.S government when it comes to domestic spying. In the United Kingdom, the recent detention of David Miranda, a Brazilian national who was transporting materials for the Guardian newspaper – Miranda’s companion, Glenn Greenwald, is the Guardian’s journalist who broke the Snowden story — has brought into question the U.K. Terrorism Act 2000.
Both in the United States and in the United Kingdom, the question being debated is how far governments can go in the name of protecting national security in the face of terrorism.
On 18 August Miranda was detained at Heathrow Airport and questioned for nine hours. His laptop and other pieces of electronic equipment were confiscated. The Economist reports that his relationship with Greenwald may have triggered his detention and questioning, , but Theresa May, the U.K. home secretary, said the reason for the police action was the danger that the classified materials Miranda could have been transporting would fall into the hands of those who could harm U.K. security.
May justified the detention by referring to the Terrorism Act 2000, which gives police broad powers to question travelers at British ports, airports, and other points of entry. Such travelers may be detained for up to nine hours without access to a lawyer. Included in the Act is the police’s authority to seize property, although the property must be returned.
There is also a focus on the British government’s recent actions toward newspapers. The Guardian was ordered to destroy hard drives and storage devices which contained documents leaked by Snowden, prompting Guardian’s editor Alan Rusbridger to charge that the government is “conflating terrorism and journalism.”
A move to reform the Terrorism Act 2000 is underway, with a plan to reduce the maximum detention time to six hours. The reform has gained May’s support and is set to be debated in Parliament later this year.
