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  1. Media Law
October 13, 2008

Photographers take surveillance fight to Scotland Yard

By Dominic Ponsford

Press photographers angry about the way police deal with them at demonstrations have taken their protests to Scotland yard.

Around a dozen attended the demonstration on Saturday, which was partly prompted by alleged police mistreatment of photographers at an anti-fur March in London last month.

Photographers are also concerned about Metropolital Police use of Forward Intelligence Teams to routinely photograph and log photographers covering demonstrations.

Photographer Theodore Liasi, who was at Saturday’s demonstration, said: ‘On the anti-fur march we couldn’t get photographs of the march because police said we were part of the march and not allowed to leave it.

‘After two or three hours of this I said I wanted to leave – but police said that photographers had to stay with the march until it finished. I was absolutely furious.”

He added: ‘It’s getting impossible to do your work. You are being photographed, you don’t what for, you are being earmarked – and you are being restricted from going out and doing other jobs.”

Liasi said journalists met senior officers outside Scotland Yard to voice their concerns.

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One of the demonstrators made his point by concealing his identity wearing an all-over protective suit.

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