Secret hearings could allow UK police to seize journalists' notes if bill passes

The seizure of journalists' notebooks, photographs and digital files could be conducted in secret hearings, owing to a little-publicized clause in a UK government bill aimed at cutting red tape, media organizations have warned.

Requests for notebooks, computer disks, photographs or videos must currently be made in open court and representatives of news groups can be present. But the clause -- in the deregulation bill, which will be brought before the House of Commons -- significantly alters the way courts consider so-called "production orders", stripping out current safeguards. The underlying rules governing whether police can have access to material will remain the same but without media groups being present it is feared that judges will be more easily persuaded to authorize police seizures of journalistic material. A Cabinet Office spokesman said: "Every measure in the deregulation bill is intended to remove unnecessary bureaucracy. Clause 47 would bring the Police and Criminal Evidence Act into line with other legislation in this area and would allow the criminal procedure rules committee to make procedure rules that are consistent and fair. "However, the government has noted the concerns raised about this issue and Oliver Letwin is happy to meet with media organizations about this before the bill goes to committee."