Mr Justice Mann in his judgment in the Cliff Richard vs BBC privacy case: "I have found that SYP [South Yorkshire Police] did not merely volunteer the material for its own purposes; it provided it because of a concern that if it did not do so there would be a prior publication by the BBC, a concern known to and probably fostered by the BBC’s reporter, Mr Dan Johnson. So far as the main claim in this case is concerned, I find that Sir Cliff had privacy rights in respect of the police investigation and that the BBC infringed those rights without a legal justification. It did so in a serious way and also in a somewhat sensationalist way. I have rejected the BBC’s case that it was justified in reporting as it did under its rights to freedom of expression and freedom of the press."
Sun's Tom Newton Dunn @tnewtondunn on Twitter: "Cliff Richard judgement is madness imho. V high profile celebrity - who has chased attention for 50 years - being investigated by police is always in the public interest. @BBCNews just doing its job."
Sunday Times' Tim Shipman @ShippersUnbound on Twitter: "The Cliff Richard ruling is an atrocity for a free media. The police chose to put the issue in the public domain in this way. Will dramatically restrict the freedom to report and in sex cases could prevent other victims coming forward. Absurd."
The Times [£] in a leader: "The judge implied that, even if the tone of the BBC’s coverage had been more sober, the very act of publishing Sir Cliff’s name might have been a breach of his right to privacy that exposed the BBC to a claim for damages. If the courts began to adopt this approach more widely it would be a serious affront to public interest journalism. Identifying suspects in the media can be crucial to building a prosecution case as it can prompt other victims to come forward. The broadcaster Stuart Hall, for instance, might never have been brought to justice for multiple counts of sexual assault on underage girls unless he had been identified in the media, prompting ten women to come forward and give evidence. It is also fundamental to a democracy that the press is able to report on the activities of the police, endowed as they are with the coercive power of the state."
The Guardian in a leader: "As news organisations, it is our job to tell people what is going on. That is why journalists from the BBC to the Sun have mounted such an unusual display of unity in their horrified reaction to this ruling. The idea that the activities of the police could be placed off limits to reporters is anathema."
Society of Editors' s executive director Ian Murray in a statement: “The ruling to make it unlawful that anyone under investigation can be named is a major step and one that has worrying consequences for press freedom and the public’s right to know. While the judge, Mr Justice Mann, made it plain that the court felt the BBC’s coverage of the police raid on Sir Cliff’s home was sensational, and the BBC have admitted they have lessons to learn and have apologised to the star for the distress he has been through, to go as far as to make it unlawful that anyone under investigation can be named is extreme. Certainly, such a major change in the law should be debated in Parliament and not come into force following one case involving a high-profile celebrity."
Ex-Sun editor David Yealland @davidyelland on Twitter: "Trump takes a wrecking ball to British Sovereignty and is cheered to the rafters by The Sun. Sad day. The man is a racist, sexist, cruel, awful, ignorant narcissist. I’m with the protestors."
Donald Trump asked about the Sun interview by BBC’s political editor Laura Kuenssberg: “I didn’t criticise the prime minister. I have a lot of respect for the prime minister. Unfortunately, there was a story that was done which was generally fine but it didn’t put in what I said about the prime minister and I said tremendous things. Fortunately, we tend to record stories now so we have it for you if you'd like it. We record when we deal with reporters. It's called fake news.”
Kevin Maguire @Kevin_Maguire on Twitter: "Hate The Sun if you like but outrageous of Trump to claim the reporting of what he said was “Fake News”. The paper reported his comments responsibly, as the recording proves."
Trump, during his British press conference: "I don't take questions from CNN. Fake news. Let's go to John Roberts of Fox. A real network."
Pete Vernon in the Columbia Journalism Review: "Trump’s willingness to single out specific new organizations as “fake news,” and to refuse their questions on the world stage, demands action. This won’t be the last time the president attacks an outlet for the act of asking a question. By now, journalists should be prepared to respond."
Piers Morgan in the Mail on Sunday on his exclusive interview with Trump: "As I’ve previously found to my cost, if you engage him too aggressively in one exchange over one issue, the plug can get pulled very swiftly. So my Trump interview strategy, honed over at least 35 interviews with him over the years, has been to ask as many questions about as many issues as possible to get a wide range of responses. I think that’s particularly important now he’s President, where his opinions are obviously so important. Trump-haters will always scream blue murder that an interviewer doesn’t spend every second of his allotted time clubbing him over the head with a large hammer. But I prefer to engage with Trump and listen to him in our interviews rather than berate and abuse him."
Kaius Niemi editor-in-chief of Finland's Helsingin Sanomat newspaper, which welcomed the summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin with hundreds of billboards supporting the free press, as quoted by Press Gazette: “As we welcome the presidents to the summit in Finland, we want to remind them of the importance of free press. We want to show our support to those colleagues who have to fight in ever toughening circumstances on a daily basis both in the US and Russia. Our goal is to raise the topic of the freedom of the press around the world.”
- The billboards took headlines from Helsing Sanomat which included The headlines included “Trump calls media enemy of the people” and “Putin shuts down Russia’s largest news agency”. A large screen had the message: “Mr. President, welcome to the land of the free press”.
Roy Greenslade in the Guardian on how Trump has found favour in parts of the British press: "What counts in the UK is that Trump thumbs his nose at the EU, doesn’t see the point of Merkel and believes immigration to be the source of all troubles in advanced capitalist societies. The Donald is their new pin-up. He is a walking, talking tabloid leader writer. Short phrases. Pithy insults. A stranger to self-doubt. It’s not only about Brexit, of course. They see virtue in Trump’s belief that he, like them, affects to represent the common people through the application of pragmatic politics based on good, old-fashioned common sense."
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