The following is a letter by the information
commissioner, Richard Thomas. It is reproduced
from the Independent newspaper on 2 April
2008.
Sir: Donald Trelford's piece "If this Bill is passed, it could
mean the end of investigative journalism" (Media, 31 March), is
wrong on several counts.
In 2006 my office exposed an illegal, widespread and pernicious
trade in personal information. Law firms, financial institutions
and the media have been engaging private investigators to obtain
people's health, financial and other personal details to order.
This has been a specific criminal offence for many years, but has
not been deterred by availability of unlimited fines. The
government has recognised that the custodial sentence included in
its Criminal Justice & Immigration Bill is needed to deter
those who steal data.
This does not threaten responsible investigatory journalism in
any way. Donald Trelford is wrong to suggest that a simple phone
call puts a journalist at risk of imprisonment. The offence is only
committed where the information is obtained knowingly or recklessly
without the consent of the organisation holding it. Usually the
information is "blagged" through deceptive impersonation or by a
corrupt payment. With a clear public-interest defence, genuine
investigatory journalism is further protected - but not the
scavenging for tittle-tattle uncovered by my office.
Free speech is a cornerstone of democracy. But - unless
public-interest considerations apply - freedom of speech does not
justify stealing information any more than it would permit stealing
a briefcase or a laptop.
Government and other organisations hold ever-increasing volumes
of data about all of us. There was widespread anger when child
benefit and other data losses came to light, but at least that was
accidental. This offence targets deliberate security breaches. This
is the Government's first legislative opportunity to demonstrate
its seriousness in safeguarding information. It would be
extraordinary for its welcome strong line to be abandoned or
opposed at this late stage.
Richard Thomas
Information Commissioner,Wilmslow, Cheshire