The newspaper which blew the lid on phone hacking by journalists at News International could be compelled to reveal its sources. London’s Metropolitan Police will use national security laws in a court hearing this Friday in a bid to force the Guardian newspaper to hand over documents relating to its exposé of the media scandal.
The Guardian’s editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger has described the move as “extraordinary” and vowed to fight it.
The material sought relates to a story about how journalists at the now-defunct News of the World newspaper ordered the hacking of a phone used by the murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler.
The story was pivotal in reigniting the investigation into phone hacking, which was abandoned by Met police despite having evidence in its possession to suggest the practice was more widespread than first thought.
In a press release, the Met said that the order was sought “in order to seek evidence of offenses connected to potential breaches relating to Misconduct in Public Office and the Official Secrets Act.”
However, the application has already drawn criticism from other media and freedom of speech campaigners.
John Kampfner, chief executive of Index on Censorship, said that the Guardian had continued digging even after the Met failed to investigate the case further.
“Its revelations form one of the most important instances of investigative journalism in recent years,” he wrote in a letter to the Commissioner of the Met, Bernard Hogan-Howe.
“Any continuation of this case under the Official Secrets Act would mark not just a severe threat to free expression in the U.K. but would also cause further damage to the Metropolitan police’s already tarnished reputation in this matter.”
The actor Hugh Grant, whose phone was also hacked by News International journalists, said the police behavior was “worrying and deeply mysterious.” He made the remarks at a Liberal Democratic conference in Birmingham, the Guardian reported.
Rival newspapers including the Telegraph and the Independent also criticized the move in editorial comments. Even the Murdoch-owned newspaper The Times described the police actions as “shameful.”
Don Foster, a Lib Dem Member of Parliament and advisor on media issues to the government, said that the U.K.’s attorney general Dominic Grieve has the power to block the use of the Official Secrets Act in forcing the disclosure.
“He should use it and say this is not in the public interest,” Foster was reported as saying.
On Monday, Grieve’s office said that it would weigh the matter carefully.
“If the police provide evidence that would support a charge under section 5 of the Official Secrets Act the attorney general’s consent would be required,” a spokesman for Grieve said in comments to the Guardian.
“If that stage is reached, the attorney general, with the [Director of Public Prosecutions], will consider whether there is sufficient evidence and whether the public interest is in favor of bringing a prosecution.”
