Nick Clegg is urging the government to quickly pass a law to protect journalists’ sources from police surveillance amid signs that the Home Office is dragging its feet on the commitment.



It has recently emerged that the police have systematically been using the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act to require phone companies to hand over phone records and internet email logs of reporters, which has had the effect of discouraging both whistleblowing and challenging journalism.

The deputy prime minister has written to Theresa May, the home secretary, saying he wants the law tightened before the general election in May. Clegg will support amendments to the serious crime bill, due to be tabled on Wednesday by the Liberal Democrat backbencher Julian Huppert, to ensure police cannot access journalists’ records without a judicial warrant.

More than 100 newspaper editors have written to David Cameron asking for fresh protection.

Huppert will say in the Guardian on Wednesday: “The interception of communications commissioner, Sir Anthony May, found in the last three years 19 police forces put in over 600 applications to view journalists’ phone records to identify their sources.

“This is unacceptable. It risks jeopardising investigative journalism and freedom of speech. How will anyone be brave enough to contact a journalist in the public interest, if they know that very easily they can be tracked down? … We are running out of time this parliament to actually fix this problem, not just talk about doing so. So I’ve decided to act.”

Huppert’s proposed external independent oversight would apply to professional journalists and all legally privileged information, personal information shared confidentially between doctor and patient, and constituent and MP, and information shared with a minister of religion.

The issue is to be considered at the report stage of the bill on 23 February.

The culture secretary, Sajid Javid, was the most recent Conservative cabinet minister to say that the law would be tightened to stop “spying on reporters and whistleblowers who are going about their lawful business”, but nothing has materialised to this end.



A spokesman for Clegg said: “The deputy prime minister has consistently said the accessing of the source of journalistic information should be signed off by a judge. He welcomes the recent conversion to this point of view by Conservatives including, most recently, the culture secretary.

“He sees no reason why this should not be addressed as a matter of urgency by the coalition government. There is no point waiting around. There is a suitable piece of legislation where this can be done and he will be making the case in government for this to be addressed through the serious crime bill, either through Julian Huppert’s amendments or alternative government amendments.”

Conservative ministers have repeatedly said they are aware of the problems and promised to amend the current code of practice, after a consultation. No full consultation paper has emerged and the time left to pass legislation before the election is running out.

Efforts have been made twice in the Lords on a separate criminal justice bill to insert new public interest defences for journalists, but the Conservative peer Shirley Williams rejected the changes, saying any journalist who had a problem with their communication data being accessed by the police could make a complaint to the interception of communications commissioner.