Police force clarifies guidelines over taking photos

The Metropolitan police force has amended guidance on how to treat the public and media who are taking photos in public places.

It makes it clear to police officers that members of the public and the media do not need a permit to film or take photographs in public places. It also says that the “police have no power to stop them filming or photographing incidents or police personnel."

The original advice detailed the rights that police claimed anti-terror legislation, such as the Terrorism Act, gives to its officers. However this caused an outcry and was criticised as “misleading” by lawyer Rupert Grey, of media law firm Swan Turton.

Lord Carlile, a Home Office advisor and anti-terrorism law watchdog also condemned the police’s indiscriminate use of the laws to stop photography.

“It is inexcusable for police officers ever to use this provision to interfere with the rights of individuals to take photographs,” he said.

The guidance now points out that although officers have the power to stop and search a person who they reasonably suspect to be a terrorist, “the purpose of the stop and search is to discover whether that person has in their possession anything which may constitute evidence that they are a terrorist."

Officers are also told they must 'exercise caution' when asking to view images captured by members of the media. It warned that a court order could be needed to view images captured by members of the media.

"Where it is clear that the person being searched is a journalist, officers should exercise caution before viewing images as images acquired or created for the purposes of journalism may constitute journalistic material and should not be viewed without a Court Order," says the guidance, in a passage which did not appear in the original.

The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) welcomed the changes. Roy Mincoff, the NUJ's legal officer said: "It is good to see that the police have listened to some of what we’ve been saying and the new guidance is certainly an improvement.

"We still have significant concerns about the way counter-terrorism legislation is being used to impinge on media freedoms, so it is vital that any guidance issued by the police is accurate and recognises the importance of a free press.

“Let’s hope that this marks a recognition on the part of the police that they must take the concerns of photojournalists seriously. We will be monitoring to see if the changes are reflected in practice."