Counter Terrorism Act 2008 Section 76 Amendment 58

Another nail in the coffin of normalisation.

Every month there appears to be a new amendment to the Terrorism Act 2008 . The most recent piece of special legislation is the introduction of a ban on images relating to security forces or police personnel. Essentially, the state has removed the right of an individual to photograph in a public place or venue

Journalists and members of the public have been harassed and told not to take photographs during parades where police have been in attendance. Which essentially means that state agents or police can arrest innocent people who are filming in public places.

see the latest legislation below and the penalties associated it.

76 Offences relating to information about members of armed forces etc .

(1) After section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000 (collection of information) insert— .

“58A Eliciting, publishing or communicating information about members of armed forces etc .

(1) A person commits an offence who— .

(a) elicits or attempts to elicit information about an individual who is or has been— .

(i) a member of Her Majesty’s forces, .

(ii) a member of any of the intelligence services, or .

(iii) a constable, . which is of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, or

(b) publishes or communicates any such information. .

(2) It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to prove that they had a reasonable excuse for their action. .

(3) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable— .

(a) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years or to a fine, or to both; .

(b) on summary conviction—

(i) in England and Wales or Scotland, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or to both; .

(ii) in Northern Ireland, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or to both. .

(4) In this section “the intelligence services” means the Security Service, the Secret Intelligence Service and GCHQ (within the meaning of section 3 of the Intelligence Services Act 1994 (c. 13)). .

(5) Schedule 8A to this Act contains supplementary provisions relating to the offence under this section.”. .

(2) In the application of section 58A in England and Wales in relation to an offence committed before the commencement of section 154(1) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (c. 44) the reference in subsection (3)(b)(i) to 12 months is to be read as a reference to 6 months. .

(3) In section 118 of the Terrorism Act 2000 (c. 11) (defences), in subsection (5)(a) after “58,” insert “58A,”. .

(4) After Schedule 8 to the Terrorism Act 2000 insert the Schedule set out in Schedule 8 to this Act. .

Documenting dissent is under attack From Monday February 2009, you could be arrested for taking and publishing a photograph of someone in intelligence, the police or armed forces

Marc Vallée guardian.co.uk, Thursday 12 February 2009 11.30 GMT Article history, Monday is the enforcement date for section 76 of the Counter Terrorism Act 2008, and as a photojournalist who documents political dissent on the streets – and sometimes fields – of Britain, I'm worried about how this legislation is going to affect my job.

Terror legislation has been increasingly used by this government, and sometimes brutally enforced by the police, to criminalise not only those who protest but also those who dare to give the oxygen of publicity to such dissent.

From Monday it will be an offence to elicit or attempt to elicit information about an individual who is or has been a member of the armed forces, intelligence services, or a police officer in Great Britain – it's been an offence in Northern Ireland since 2000. It will also be an offence to publish such information.

In a nutshell, you could be arrested for taking and publishing a picture of a police officer if the police think it is "likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism". Your defence if charged by the crown prosecution service would be to prove that you had a "reasonable excuse" to take the picture in the first place.

I can see it now: "If you don't stop taking pictures of me hitting this protester on the head, I'm going to nick you under section 76 of the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008." When you add this to the comments made by Vernon Coaker, the minister for policing, in a letter to the National Union of Journalists in December, things don't look good.

The Coaker letter laid out when the police could "limit" photography in a public place. He wrote: "This may be on the grounds of national security or there may be situations in which the taking of photographs may cause or lead to public order situations or inflame an already tense situation or raise security considerations.

Additionally, the police may require a person to move on in order to prevent a breach of the peace or to avoid a public order situation or for the person's own safety and welfare or for the safety and welfare of others."

I have to say I find the for your own safety and welfare line a bit hard to swallow. Documenting political dissent in Britain is under attack and just in time for the political and industrial fall out from the recession. Think G20 in April or the Lindsey refinery dispute over the last few weeks.

Section 76 will fit in nicely alongside other blunt instruments such as section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000, which has had a huge impact on photography in a public place.