Sign the petition here.
The editors of The Sun and The Guardian and the general secretary of the National Union of Journalists are among those backing the Save Our Sources campaign to stop police secretly monitoring the phone-calls of journalists.
The Change.org petition, which can be found here, calls on the Interception of Communications Commissioner Sir Anthony May to ensure that the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act is not used by public authorities to secretly obtain journalists' phone records and identify confidential sources.
Such action is believed by many to be a breach of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights with gives the highest possible protection to journalists' sources.
Press Gazette started the campaign at the end of last week shortly after it emerged that the Met Police had used RIPA to secretly obtain the phone records of Sun political editor Tom Newton Dunn and details of calls made to The Sun newsdesk in order to find three officers accused of leaking information about the Plebgate affair. The officers were not found to have broken the law, but were sacked anyway.
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Backers of the campaign so far include Sun editor David Dinsmore, Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger, Spectator editor Fraser Nelson, National Union of Journalists general secretary Michelle Stanistreet and Chartered Institute of Journalists general secretary Dominic Cooper.
The petition list (below in full) also includes Guardian reporter Nick Davies, Sun investigations editor Brian Flynn, Oxford Mail and Oxford Times editor Simon O'Neill and former Times managing editor and City University head of journalism George Brock.
Here are some of their reasons for signing:
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Fraser Nelson: "Freedom of press means freedom to protect sources."
George Brock: "Confidential sources are essential to the free circulation of significant information in democracies. Sources must be able to trust the promise of confidence."
Oxford Mail and Oxford Times editor Simon O'Neill: "As a journalist I am concerned about creeping secrecy and media suppression by state organisations."
Guardian reporter Nick Davies: "Journalists should be able to protect sources and information from police intrusion."
Dominic Cooper, director general of the Chartered Institute of Journalists: "It is essential that journalist’s sources are protected at all costs. Only then will those who seek to shine the light on wrong doing be able to trust in the confidentiality offered by journalists."
Sun investigations editor Brian Flynn: "We do not want to live in a police state."
Here is the current full list of 305 signatories:
Dominic Ponsford
Dan Palmer
William Turvill
Eliot Hastie
Morette Thompson
Ellie Brown
Simon O'Neill
Tom Worden
fidelma cook
Neil Syson
Gail Milne
Henry Vaughan
Samir Jeraj
lewis panther
Gaz Corfield
Andrew Gardner
Stuart Smith
Concepta Cassar
Tom Savage
Jane Price
Kevin Price
Nigel Pauley
Jen Pharo
Jo Taylor
Spy Blog
Michelle Smart
martin stenning
Sarah Griffiths
Jon Slattery
Ric Sumner
Jules Mattsson
Pete Maclaine
Jeremy Dear
Tom Newton Dunn
Stephen Bush
Jonathan Calder
Duncan Geddes
Greg Swift
James Cunliffe
Jeff Gazzard
Paul Hurved
Robin Rea
Riitta Ollila
Jon Mills
john jewell
Daryl Stafford
Lara O'Reilly
Tim Palmer
Will Jordan
Lizzie Palmer
Enid Shelmerdine
Shane Croucher
Patrick O'Brien
Jordan Bintcliffe
megan french
Rachel Broady
Gareth Davies
John Keenan
Fraser Nelson
Tina Robins
Mary Mehaffy
liz gerard
Sam Harrington-Lowe
Alex Olliver
James Doleman
William Humphries
Stanley Moorcroft
Bryan Glick
Rudolf Abraham
Simon Russell
Patrick Walter
Anthony Hatter
Kevin Ward
Sam Marsden
Chris Johnston
Joan Willows
Robert Collins
Maria Williams
Darren Ingram
George Brock
Tom Witherow
Oliver Jones
V Witty
Craig Lewis
Mike Jempson
Nick Davies
Jane Rossiter-Smith
Steve Rose
Bill Campbell
Richard Andrew
Meg Howarth
Denise Danks
Tim Crook
Dominic Cooper CIoJ
Sean Gallagher
Matt Hill
Michael Fisher
Nigel Jarrett
David Wignall
Tony Bianchi
Anthony Warlow
Oliver Pugh
Paul Weatherilt
Denis O'Regan
Lucy Fisher
Mark Johnson
William Goodwin
Janet Jones
Ben Turner
Madeleine Trimmer
Pete Green
D Lee
Tom Bristow
Laura Oakley
Roger Perkins
Thomas Barfield
Nick Wallis
Graham Alexander-Harper
Geoffrey Brewis
Paul Lashmar
Richard Gould
Jill Rosenlund
robert hooper
Hilary Muray
Anthony McIntyre
B Bridges
Carrie Twomey
Kathryn Johnston
Paul Francis Leighton FCIJ
Neil Wallis
caraline brown
Jamie Turner
David Dinsmore
Alexander Robson
Cassandra Allwood
Ben Parsons
David Thomas
Thomas Walshe
Alison Webster
Peter Walker
Tony Whitfield
Michelle Stanistreet
Robin Wilson
Harry Kemble
William Lodge
Joe Shute
Mikey Smith
Harry Kemble
Philip Fielding
Jason Beattie
Mike Lowe
Daniel Bentley
Grant Rollings
V Weston
James Brownsell
Phil Sutcliffe
Paul Lewis
Rob Reeves
Doug Seeburg
ciaran mc clean
William Horsley
Anthony France
Michael Hortin
Maggie Curtis
David Smith
Sarah Kavanagh
Jacky Porter
Ashley Kirk
Margot Huysman
mike forster
David Lindsell
David White
Helen Reynolds
Dick Bain
Brian Flynn
sharon hanna
Andrew O'Hagan
stefan slater
Philip Hunt
David Comeau
Louise Bolotin
Neil Wilson
Geoff Webster
Roger Ryan
Emily Brown
Francesca Di Renzo
richard meredith
Roy Mincoff
rob evans
Deborah King
Andrew Pugh
David Rose
Graham Nugent
Matthew Lloyd
Paul Robinson
Claire Pugh
Matt Silver
gordon porritt
Mia Kozlow
Lynda Totton
David CC Ewen
sarrah Blyth
Lucia Poliovkova
Steve Hoselitz
Linda Fenn
Bernie Shaw
Rob Draper
Tresor Ekwok
H Smith
Fiona Scott
annette mcparland
Kelly Bedson
Andrew Stephenson
Lynsey cleaver
Cheryl Jarman
Jan Patterson
alice johnston
Vanessa Langford
Maureen Loo on
Louise Smillie
Rick Byrne
Kelly Ablethorpe
barbara hall
Tim McConville
Jessica Daniels
Natalie Brewer
Michelle Hodges
Natasha Carthew
Eddy Murphy
Rwanda Soole
Kelly Gilders
Nora Kurdy
Rob Tooze
Krisztina okunbor
Patrice Johnson
Amirali Ravji
Emma Raine
Jane Glenton
Zoe Spears
Elizabeth Fleming
Jay Vincent
Darren Jardine
A Rathbone
dawn beech
Don Harrison
Alice Smith-Hogan
Sheila Ryan
Steven Cassidy
kathryn terry
Karim Kraku
Lorilee Mensah
David Lawson
dave Ballantyne
Helen O'Neill
joy meah
Jack Grady
Ewa Kopacki
Laura Onita
Leda Schoen
carol brewster
Tom Sneddon
lynn ghenimi
Thomas Clinch
Andy Smith
Tory Blair
Jean Morgan
Owen Duffy
Robert McLaughlin
Janine Gibson
Sheron Boyle
Richard Fidler
jim mcquade
David Allen Green
Inga Boegershausen
Eric Matthies
Jill Foster
Thais Portilho
Lynn Morris
Robert Goldspink
David Shariatmadari
Pat Gow
Dominic Heale
Peter Burrows
richard goss
Jeremy Ball
Pam Cowburn
Chris Doidge
Nikki Osborne
Julia Day
sue morey
Tina Quinn
ben black
Amanda Brodie
Carmel Harrison
Roisin Hannon
Stephen Wright
Ian Gallagher
Loraine McGrady
Miranda Grell
Kris Jones
Mei Wan Chang
Joseph Cox
To join them, sign our petition here.
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