Police face legal action for snooping on journalists


Rob Evans reports in the Guardian that a group of journalists have launched legal action against Metropolitan Police who have been secretly recording their activities on the Domestic Extremist Database.

They have started the legal action to expose what they say is a persistent pattern of journalists being assaulted, monitored and stopped and searched by police during their work, which often includes documenting police misconduct.

The six journalists have obtained official files under the Data Protection Act that reveal how police logged details of their work as they reported on protests. One video journalist discovered that the Metropolitan Police had more than 130 entries detailing his movements.

The group includes a journalist on the Times.  Jules Mattsson, who, police noted, was “always looking for a story”.  Mattsson said that when he had been a victim of crime, police had transferred on to the Domestic Extremism Database details of his appearance, childhood and a family member’s medical history.