Met's threats to Guardian are 'direct attack on free press', say lawyers | Media | The Observer: "Leading journalists and lawyers on Saturday accused Scotland Yard of launching "a direct attack on a free press" after it invoked the Official Secrets Act in an attempt to force journalists to reveal their sources.
Lawyers acting for the Metropolitan Police will on Friday apply for an order under the 1989 act requiring the Guardian to hand over documents that could identify the source of information for several articles published as part of the newspaper's investigation into phone hacking.
The Society of Editors on Saturday joined the Index on Censorship in criticising the legal manoeuvre, while a leading QC suggested it could breach human rights laws.
"Scotland Yard's outrageous and unjustified attempt to force the Guardian to reveal its sources in its phone-hacking investigation is a direct attack on a free press," said John Kampfner, chief executive of Index on Censorship. "This is a shocking move to intimidate the media using the Official Secrets Act, one of the state's most draconian pieces of legislation.""
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