'Obsession with surveillance' puts UK press freedom under threat

Journalism in the UK is being threatened by a government “obsession with surveillance” and violations of confidential sources, an international body protecting press freedom claimed.

Britain and America both slipped down the 2017 World Press Freedom Index, published today by Reporters Without Borders.

The organisation said vitriol surrounding last year’s Brexit campaign and Donald Trump’s rise to the presidency was marked by “high-profile media bashing” and “a highly toxic anti-media discourse”.

The annual study measures the level of freedom in 180 countries, including the degree of media independence and respect for the safety and freedom of journalists.

Norway came top, followed by Sweden. North Korea remained bottom, followed by Eritrea.

Rebecca Vincent, the UK bureau director for Reporters Without Borders, said: “We witnessed a disturbing trend of moves against press freedom in the UK this year, from the seizure of a Syrian journalist’s passport, to the adoption of the most extreme surveillance legislation in UK history that could effectively serve as a death sentence for investigative journalism.”