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Police investigation - journalist ordered to produce incriminating material - judge's discretion
R v Central Criminal Court, ex parte Bright, R v Same, ex parte Alton, R v Same, ex parte Rusbridger: CA (Judge LJ, Maurice Kay and Gibbs JJ): 21 July 2000

Newspapers published a letter and an article in connection with allegations made by S, a former employee of the security services, that members of those services had been involved in a plot to assassinate Colonel Gaddafi, the Libyan head of state.

The police, in pursuance of a criminal investigation into S's activities, sought production, in accordance with s.9 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, of material received by the newspapers from S.

The information in support of the application asserted that an offence under s.5 of the Official Secrets Act 1989 might have been committed by B.

The judge held that the relevant access conditions were fulfilled and granted the orders.

The applicants sought judicial review of those orders on the grounds that the orders infringed B's privilege against self-incrimination.


Ben Emmerson QC (instructed by Birnberg, Peirce & Partners) for Bright; Michael Tugendhat QC (instructed by Jan Johannes) for Alton and Rusbridger; Clare Montgomery QC and Ian Leist (Crown Prosecution Service headquarters) for the Crown.



Held, allowing the applications in part, that s.9 of the 1984 Act included the power for the Crown Court to make production orders which actually or potentially infringed a person's right against self-incrimination; that Parliament had created safeguards in the form of a series of access conditions, fulfilment of which had to be proved to a court, and the judge had a further discretion which could and had to be exercised before a production order could be made; and that accordingly, the access conditions having been fulfilled only in relation to one document, the applications for orders of certiorari would be granted to bring up and quash the orders in respect of all the other documents.