Journalists and Media Workers: Safety and Security

Lord Browne of Ladyton Excerpts

Thursday 24th April 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Browne of Ladyton (Lab)]

My Lords, in the interests of brevity, I will restrict myself to asking my noble friend the Minister whether we plan to take action on four specific recommendations made by the Media Freedom Coalition’s high-level panel.

In 2019, it published four reports, each of which concluded with a specific recommendation. Other member states have begun to act on these, but the UK, despite its status as a founding member of the coalition, has not. First, it recommended the establishment of an emergency visa for journalists at risk. Secondly, it called for the creation of an independent investigative task force that can be deployed contemporaneously with the commission of the crimes to help tackle impunity for them. Thirdly, it advocated the use of targeted sanctions to provide accountability for such crimes and the ability to utilise sanctions in cases of arbitrary detention of journalists. Lastly, it suggested the enactment of a legal duty on states to provide consular assistance to journalists when arbitrarily detained abroad.

I know that some progress has been made on the latter, with the Government pledging to introduce a legal right to consular assistance for those affected by human rights violations, but real challenges remain. When will this be implemented and how can it better protect journalists who are arbitrarily detained abroad, such as British citizens Jimmy Lai, detained in Hong Kong, and Alaa Abd El-Fattah, detained in Egypt? Can my noble friend the Minister tell your Lordships’ House whether consideration is being given to following the example of other MFC members in adopting the high-level panel’s recommendations?

We know that the opposite of free speech is not silence but an uninterrupted monologue, and that the work of journalists in oppressive states is vital in protecting freedom and exposing governmental oppression.