The Court of the United Kingdom ruled on Tuesday (22) in favor of a journalist that the police tried to force to reveal the identity of the author of one of the worst terrorist attacks in the history of the country.
Chris Mullin, 74, managed to stop West Midlands police from using anti-terrorism legislation to make him count who planted the bombs that destroyed two Birmingham pubs in 1974. The attacks, blamed on the Irish Republican Army (IRA), left 21 dead. and dozens of wounded.
Mullin, who was also a Labor MP for more than two decades and secretary under Tony Blair, wrote a book that helped secure the release of six men wrongfully convicted of the crime. During the journalist’s investigation, the real terrorist made what Mullin called a “full confession”, and he vowed never to reveal the criminal’s identity.
The investigation gave rise to “Error of Judgment: The Truth About The Birmingham Bombings”, published in 1990. Further investigations led to the release of the group that became known as “the six of Birmingham”, after 17 years in prison.
In Tuesday’s ruling, Judge Mark Lucraft agreed with Mullin’s arguments that he could not reveal his source. The magistrate stated that there is no “public interest superior to the right to protection of the journalistic source” provided for in article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
“A journalist’s right to protect his sources is essential for a free press in a democracy,” said Mullin, who had previously accused police of not properly investigating. If they had got it right, he argued, “they could have arrested the real culprits.”
For Mullin’s lawyer, Louis Charalambous, the decision is “a milestone” for freedom of expression. “If a confidential source cannot trust a journalist’s promise of lifetime protection, these investigations will never see the light of day,” he said.
For Michelle Stanistreet, secretary general of the NUJ, the national union of British journalists, the “case threatened press freedom and represented yet another attempt to criminalize the legitimate actions of journalists”. West Midlands Police, meanwhile, said they would “carefully investigate” the case, but did not say whether they would appeal the decision.
