Country
United Kingdom
Government actions against journalists in the United Kingdom
RSF 2026 rank: 18th of 180. World Press Freedom Index of Reporters Without Borders (RSF); rank 1 is the freest.
The number of entries reflects the depth of this record, not the severity of a country's conduct.
The United Kingdom is in Northern Europe, Europe. The record holds 5 incidents in which the government of the United Kingdom, or an official, court or legislature there, limited journalists' ability to report.
Tactics used
- Prior restraint: 3 incidents · ladder
- Detention and violence: 1 incident · ladder
- Funding and ownership pressure: 1 incident · ladder
- Licensing and closure of outlets: 1 incident · ladder
- Secrets and espionage laws: 1 incident · ladder
- Shutdowns and blocking: 1 incident · ladder
- Surveillance and subpoenas: 1 incident · ladder
Heads of government at the time
- David Cameron: 1 incident
- Edward Heath: 1 incident
- Herbert Henry Asquith: 1 incident
- Margaret Thatcher: 1 incident
- Stanley Baldwin: 1 incident
Incidents by year
2013
| Date | Incident | Tactic | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 August 2013 | United Kingdom detains journalist's partner under terrorism law and oversees destruction of Guardian hard drives holding Snowden files | Surveillance and subpoenas | Punish | David Cameron | Upheld by a court (19 January 2016) |
1988
| Date | Incident | Tactic | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 1988 | United Kingdom bars broadcasters from airing Sinn Féin members' own voices | Licensing and closure of outlets | Silence | Margaret Thatcher | Reversed (16 September 1994) |
1972
| Date | Incident | Tactic | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 November 1972 | United Kingdom court bars The Sunday Times from publishing an article on thalidomide | Prior restraint | Silence | Edward Heath | Reversed (26 April 1979) |
1926
| Date | Incident | Tactic | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1926 | United Kingdom: Government requisitions newsprint and restricts rival newspapers during the 1926 General Strike | Funding and ownership pressure | Pressure | Stanley Baldwin | Ongoing (10 May 1926) |
1914
| Date | Incident | Tactic | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 August 1914 | Britain's Official Press Bureau controls newspaper coverage of the First World War | Prior restraint | Silence | Herbert Henry Asquith | Sustained (12 November 1914) |
Ladders: where each tactic has led · Timeline for United Kingdom · Europe