England: former DPP to call for ‘public interest’ defence for journalists

Journalists accused of bribing officials or hacking phones should benefit from a “public interest” defence in law according to a former director of public prosecutions.

Sir Keir Starmer QC said legal safeguards for journalists are weak and that if they publish material in the public interest this should function as a defence to a criminal charge.

His comments come after a number of acquittals of journalists prosecuted for phone hacking or buying of witnesses – many of which began during his tenure as DPP between 2008 and 2013.

Sir Keir is due to say at a debate in London on press freedom: “We should reflect on these cases. The outcomes suggest to me that our law is not clear and accessible enough.”

He believes journalists and editors should not need a lawyer on hand as they perform their jobs, saying: “A new law should clearly establish a public interest defence for journalists.”

The defence is already available for some criminal offences.

Under the Data Protection Act 1998, it may be an offence to obtain or disclose personal data, although it may be justified so long as it is “in the public interest”.

While DPP, Sir Keir provided guidelines for prosecutors when dealing with cases involving the media.

“I made it clear that, whether or not an express public interest defence exists in law, it was unlikely that cases should be prosecuted where the public interest served by the publication outweighs the overall criminality,” he will say.

He now calls for a “clear law offering journalists legal protection”.

In April, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) dropped nine out of 12 outstanding prosecutions against journalists who were accused of bribing public officials after four reporters were cleared at the Old Bailey – taking the number found not guilty to 14.

Of the 27 charged under Operation Elveden, only two were convicted.