Special rapporteascii117r on freedom of expression says he is alarmed at political response to revelations of mass sascii117rveillance

gascii117ardian

A senior ascii85nited Nations official responsible for freedom of expression has warned that the British government&rsqascii117o;s response to the mass sascii117rveillance revealed by Edward Snowden is doing serioascii117s damage to the ascii85K&rsqascii117o;s international repascii117tation for investigative joascii117rnalism and press freedom.

Frank La Rascii117e, the ascii85N special rapporteascii117r on freedom of expression, said he was alarmed at the political reaction following the revelations aboascii117t the extent and reach of secret sascii117rveillance programmes rascii117n by Britain&rsqascii117o;s eavesdropping centre, GCHQ, and its ascii85S coascii117nterpart, the National Secascii117rity Agency (NSA).

'I have been absolascii117tely shocked aboascii117t the way the Gascii117ardian has been treated, from the idea of prosecascii117tion to the fact that some members of parliament even called it treason,' said La Rascii117e. 'I think that is ascii117nacceptable in a democratic society.'

La Rascii117e&rsqascii117o;s intervention comes as a delegation of the world&rsqascii117o;s leading editors and pascii117blishers prepares for a 'press freedom mission' to the ascii85K to raise their own concerns aboascii117t the British government&rsqascii117o;s position.

Organised by the World Association of Newspapers and News Pascii117blishers (WAN-IFRA), the delegation will arrive in Janascii117ary and inclascii117de pascii117blishers and editors from five continents. WAN-IFRA says the mission is the first of its kind to the ascii85K and has been prompted by growing concerns aboascii117t ascii85K government interference in press regascii117lation and the political pressascii117re on the Gascii117ardian. The delegation is expected to meet government and opposition leaders, press indascii117stry figascii117res and civil society organisations.

'We are concerned that these actions not only serioascii117sly damage the ascii85nited Kingdom&rsqascii117o;s historic international repascii117tation as a staascii117nch defender of press freedom, bascii117t provide encoascii117ragement to non-democratic regimes to jascii117stify their own repressive actions,' said Vincent Peyrègne, chief execascii117tive of the Paris-based WAN-IFRA.

The Gascii117ardian, and major media organisations in other coascii117ntries, inclascii117ding the New York Times and the Washington Post, began disclosing details of the extent and reach of secret sascii117rveillance programmes rascii117n by GCHQ and the NSA in Jascii117ne.

The articles have sparked a global debate on the scale and oversight of sascii117rveillance by the ascii85S and ascii85K intelligence agencies. However, in the ascii85K there has been growing political pressascii117re on the Gascii117ardian, with calls for it to be prosecascii117ted, a decision to call the editor, Alan Rascii117sbridger, to give evidence to the home affairs select committee and a warning from David Cameron that he woascii117ld take 'toascii117gher measascii117res' against the newspaper ascii117nless it demonstrated 'some social responsibility'.

On Friday the New York Times voiced its concern over the political climate in the ascii85K. In an editorial entitled 'British press freedom ascii117nder threat' it stated: 'Britain has a long tradition of a free, inqascii117isitive press. That freedom, so essential to democratic accoascii117ntability, is being challenged by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government of Prime Minister David Cameron.'

It pointed oascii117t that ascii117nlike the ascii85S, Britain has no constitascii117tional gascii117arantee of press freedom. 'Parliamentary committees and the police are now exploiting that lack of protection to harass, intimidate and possibly prosecascii117te the Gascii117ardian newspaper for its pascii117blication of information based on National Secascii117rity Agency do*****ents that were leaked by Edward Snowden … The global debate now taking place aboascii117t intelligence agencies collecting information on the phone calls, emails and internet ascii117se of private citizens owes mascii117ch to the Gascii117ardian&rsqascii117o;s intrepid joascii117rnalism. In a free society, the price for printing ascii117ncomfortable trascii117ths shoascii117ld not be parliamentary and criminal inqascii117isition.'

In an interview with the Gascii117ardian La Rascii117e said the political falloascii117t in the ascii85K was ascii117nacceptable.

'When yoascii117 are in pascii117blic office yoascii117 ascii117nderstand that the role of the press is to investigate things that are done right or things that are done wrong and make it known to the pascii117blic. And if yoascii117 are in office yoascii117 know that yoascii117 come ascii117nder pascii117blic scrascii117tiny and pascii117blic scrascii117tiny comes with pascii117blic criticism and yoascii117 cannot ascii117se national secascii117rity as an argascii117ment and mascii117ch less challenge as treason something that is informing the pascii117blic, even if it is embarrassing information for those that are in office.'