National Security
There are several Acts of the United Kingdom Parliament for the protection of official information, mainly related to national security. The latest revision is the Official Secrets Act 1989 (1989 chapter 6), which removed the public interest defence by repealing section 2 of the Official Secrets Act 1911. In 2004, a memo containing details of a possible US bombing of broadcaster Al Jazeera was leaked to the press. Attorney General Peter Goldsmith has warned newspapers that they could be prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act if they publish the contents of the memo, saying "You are reminded that to publish the contents of a document which is known to have been unlawfully disclosed by a crown servant is in itself a breach of section 5 of the Official Secrets Act 1989".
The Terrorism Act 2000 makes it an offense to collect or possess information likely to be of use to a terrorist. Bilal Zaheer Ahmad, 23, from Wolverhampton, is believed to be the first first person convicted of collecting information likely to be of use to a terrorist, including the al-Qaeda publication Inspire.
The Terrorism Act 2006 makes it an offence to "glorify" terrorism. There are concerns that this could limit free speech.
DA-Notices are official but voluntary requests to news editors not to publish items on specified subjects, for reasons of national security.
Read more about this topic: Censorship In The United Kingdom
Famous quotes containing the words national and/or security:
“The word which gives the key to the national vice is waste. And people who are wasteful are not wise, neither can they remain young and vigorous. In order to transmute energy to higher and more subtle levels one must first conserve it.”
—Henry Miller (1891–1980)
“I feel a sincere wish indeed to see our government brought back to it’s republican principles, to see that kind of government firmly fixed, to which my whole life has been devoted. I hope we shall now see it so established, as that when I retire, it may be under full security that we are to continue free and happy.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)