Alex Evans, a Sheffield Star reporter, was shaken down by transport police who told him that he wasn't allowed to shoot video of a pensioners' protest against cuts to travel subsidies for elderly people. When he refused to delete his footage, they threatened him with arrest under anti-terrorism laws. Shortly after he was made to stop recording, the police roughly arrested two protestors: one 65, the other 64.
James Mitchinson, editor of the Star, said on Tuesday: “What happened to our reporter Alex Evans yesterday was absolutely unacceptable and we will be seeking a full explanation of why he was treated in such a heavy-handed, threatening manner. To cite anti-terror laws is clearly nonsense. We have a right to report the news, and the Star will always fight for that right. Our readers expect nothing less.
“But this case illustrates just how difficult it can be to report the news, on the spot when, increasingly, authorities are seeking to ‘manage’ it.
“We’re well aware that Sheffield Station is, like all stations, technically private property, and ordinarily we’d need to seek permission to film there. But this wasn’t a PR stunt, it was an extraordinary event that couldn’t have been predicted and it was very much in the public interest that people were made aware of what was going on. As the local paper and website that’s our job, and it’s a job that people expect us to do.”
Sheffield reporter threatened with arrest under anti-terrorism laws [Helen Pidd/The Guardian]
(Thanks, Adam!)
