# United Kingdom

Government actions against journalists in the United Kingdom

[RSF 2026 rank: 18th of 180](https://rsf.org/en/index). 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 2 incidents in which the government of the United Kingdom, or an official, court or legislature there, limited journalists' ability to report.

## Tactics used

- [Detention and violence: 1](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents?country=GB&tactic=detention_and_violence), ladder: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/detention_and_violence
- [Licensing and closure of outlets: 1](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents?country=GB&tactic=outlet_licensing), ladder: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/outlet_licensing
- [Prior restraint: 1](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents?country=GB&tactic=prior_restraint), ladder: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/prior_restraint
- [Surveillance and subpoenas: 1](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents?country=GB&tactic=surveillance_and_subpoenas), ladder: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/surveillance_and_subpoenas

## Heads of government at the time

- [David Cameron: 1 incident](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/david-cameron)
- [Margaret Thatcher: 1 incident](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/margaret-thatcher)

## Incidents by year

### 2013

| Date | Incident | Tactic | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| August 18, 2013 | [United Kingdom detains journalist's partner under terrorism law and oversees destruction of Guardian hard drives holding Snowden files](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2013-uk-miranda-detention-guardian-hard-drives) | [Surveillance and subpoenas](https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/surveillance_and_subpoenas) | Punish | [David Cameron](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/david-cameron) | Upheld by a court (January 19, 2016) |

### 1988

| Date | Incident | Tactic | Stage | Head of government | Outcome |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| October 1988 | [United Kingdom bars broadcasters from airing Sinn Féin members' own voices](https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1988-uk-broadcasting-ban-sinn-fein) | [Licensing and closure of outlets](https://thewaronnews.com/tactics/outlet_licensing) | Silence | [Margaret Thatcher](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/margaret-thatcher) | Reversed (September 16, 1994) |

Ladders: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders. Timeline: https://thewaronnews.com/timeline/country/gb.

Download incidents in the United Kingdom. CSV, JSON or Markdown. CC BY 4.0; credit "The War On News, thewaronnews.com".
- CSV: https://thewaronnews.com/countries/gb?format=csv
- JSON: https://thewaronnews.com/countries/gb.json
- Markdown: https://thewaronnews.com/countries/gb.md

Source page: https://thewaronnews.com/countries/gb. The War On News, CC BY 4.0.