Conservative MP Damian Green and civil servant Christopher Galley will not face charges relating to leaks of government documents after Director of Public Prosecutions Kier Starmer QC found that the leaks did not endanger security. Read more here
CATEGORY: Europe and Central Asia
Freedom of information when it suits
Why is British government trying to censor documents relating to the Iraq war it has already published, asks Chris Ames A new twist in the tale of Tony Blair’s Iraq dossier has exposed the blatant double standard that the government applies to...
BBC fined £150,000 for ‘Sachsgate’
Ofcom has fined the BBC £150,000 for breaches of the broadcasting code on Russell Brand's Radio 2 show in October. An Ofcom statement said: 'The scale of the fine reflects the extraordinary nature and seriousness of the BBC's failures and the...
Seditious libel law is a travesty of justice
The UK government’s retention of this archaic legislation only serves to justify oppression in other countries, writes Evan Harris In 1763, journalist John Wilkes and 49 of his publishers were arrested for seditious libel. Their crime was to have...
Lebedev to sue Forbes
Evening Standard and Novaya Gazeta owner Alexander Lebedev is to sue Forbes magazine for libel after it claimed he had lost $2.5 billlion in the financial crisis. Read more here
Media alerts in lead up to G20 demonstrations
As UK citizens prepare to exercise their freedom of expression at demonstrations during the upcoming week of the G20 summit, the media continues to warn of imminent riots, while most protest groups assert that violence will not be used. Fears of...
This is legal blackmail
Britain's libel laws are a malign force far beyond just celebrity journalism. Radical reform is overdue, writes Jo Glanville This article originally appeared in the Guardian Libel laws remain the most significant daily chill on free speech in the...
UK plans to monitor Facebook
The UK government has said that communications over social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace could be monitored in an effort to tackle crime and terrorism. Read more here
Freedom of Expression Awards 2009 shortlist announced
Index on Censorship today announces the shortlist for the 2009 Freedom of Expression Awards. The awards, presented in association with the Economist, the Guardian, Bindmans and the Robert Gavron Trust, honour those who have furthered the cause of...
Event: Twenty years of free speech wars
In February 1989, five months after the publication of The Satanic Verses, Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa against its author Salman Rushdie. It is often seen as a pivotal moment in shaping the landscape of contemporary Western society. So, 20...