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- Declassified described as ‘a hostile website, rather than a proper news organization’ by the director of communications at the Ministry of Defense
- MOD press officers believed there was a ‘blanket ban’ on contacting the organization
- Military officer on loan to the press office of the proposed MOD Declassified be ‘included in a list of organizations with which the department would not collaborate’
- UK government concludes official review of listing of Declassified
An official review of the declassified UK government’s handling found that Ministry of Defense (MOD) press officials believed its communications director had “enacted a blanket ban” on giving any comments to the investigative journalism organization.
The review published Monday noted that, “with the benefit of hindsight, it is understandable that they have reached that conclusion.”
Although the review falls short of saying that there was a policy of including journalists from Declassified, found that, “The end result was the same: they were not treated in the same way as other media.”
The initial suggestion to blacklist Declassified came in “late July” from an anonymous military officer loaned to the MOD press office who proposed that Declassified be “included on a list of organizations with which the department would not engage or with which it rarely participates.”
Rather than “address the potential policy violation,” the MOD’s communications director agreed that his department “should not waste time” on Declassified because it was a hostile website, rather than a proper news organization. “
Declassified had posted a series of stories that month about the UK’s training for the Saudi-led coalition in the war in Yemen, based on the MOD’s Freedom of Information responses.
The MOD’s communications director is not mentioned in the report, but it was Carl Newns, former deputy chief of counter-terrorism at the Foreign Ministry.
His position was interpreted by the rest of the press office staff “as an order not to get involved with Declassified.” They “acted as if there was such a policy” of blacklisting, the review states.
Newns told the review that he had only meant that his team “should not spend a disproportionate amount of time” answering questions from Declassified since “he had a clearly hostile agenda.”
Newns reportedly He left his post at the MOD in November, but was in charge during the UK summer. He is now in the Cabinet Office as director at the Center for National Resilience Communications Between Governments, focusing on Covid-19..
The Cabinet Office faces criticism for operating a “clearing house”Unit to delay and deny responses to journalists who make politically sensitive freedom of information requests.
‘Don’t take care of your post anymore’
After Newns encouraged his staff not to participate Declassified, its reporters were unable to obtain comment from the MOD’s press office for an exclusive story about the British Army giving intelligence training to spies from repressive regimes such as Egypt and the UAE.
There was also no response to requests for comment on stories about UK military training of security forces in Hong Kong Y Belarus, despite the fact that the MOD gave quotes to the Independent Y Observer for similar stories.
All three stories were based on the MOD’s FOI responses, and the exposure of Belarus’s training led to the UK’s military assistance being stopped.
Newns’s censorship plan only emerged on August 25 when Declassified staff reporter Phil Miller was saying by a MOD press officer, Lieutenant Colonel Richard Wade: “I understand from the office that we are no longer dealing with its publication.” Miller was working on a history on the UK’s role in the Yemen war.
The ministry’s refusal to commit to Declassified urged the Council of Europe to trouble a level 2 “media freedom alert”. Lawyers for Declassified, Leigh Day, wrote to the MOD highlighting her belief that the MOD’s actions violated the civil service code.
The following month, the MOD admitted that it had been “wrong” not to provide a comment to Miller and apologized to Declassified in a letter sent to his lawyers. Secretary of State for Defense Ben Wallace announced in Parliament that he had organized an independent review of the apparent blacklist.
It was only when ministers intervened that the refusal to commit to Declassified standing, notice the review, which was conducted by former Downing Street official spokesman Tom Kelly. It was placed in the Library of the House of Commons on December 7.
Even though Newns believes Declassified was not a “proper news organization”, Kelly’s review found that several of the MOD press officers involved in the incident “had limited media experience.”
Kelly made six recommendations, including that “the level of experience required for those who serve should be seriously considered” in the MOD press office.
Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told Parliament on Monday that he would accept all the recommendations in the review. DM
Declassified UK is a research organization covering British foreign policy: www.declassifieduk.org. Follow Declassified on Twitter, Facebook Y Youtube. Sign up for Declassified’s monthly newsletter here.
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