Blogger arrested for filming during Carmarthen County Council meeting - Telegraph

Blogger arrested for filming during Carmarthen County Council meeting

A blogger who filmed a meeting of a local council was arrested for "breaching the peace" despite insisting that she broke no laws.

"I was then taken 30 miles to Llanelli police station where I remained handcuffed for another hour before being 'processed', and put in a cell for another two hours."

Mrs Thompson also claimed that she was threatened with being kept overnight at the station unless she signed an "undertaking" not to film any more meetings.

The blogger said that the council chairman, Councillor Ivor Jackson, told her that filming was against the council's standing orders. However, according to the standing orders, members of the public and press may only be excluded if they are making a disturbance.

She told The Daily Telegraph: "I wasn't making noise. I wouldn't dream of interfering with proceedings or shouting.

"They completely overreacted. The council needs to be more open: they're not known for transparency. They're a tiny council tucked away in west Wales, they're not used to the prying eyes of social media."

The arrest has sparked outrage on Twitter and blogs, with Richard Wilson, the author and free speech campaigner, writing that: "In Carmarthenshire, this is what democracy looks like."

Mrs Thompson said that the support of users of the micro-blogging site had been "brilliant", adding that it had brought a local story to national attention. Tweets on the subject are being marked with the "hashtag" #daftarrest, with hundreds of people commenting on the actions of the council and police. Mrs Thompson's Twitter account has gained hundreds of new followers.

Carmarthenshire County Council said in a statement: "Ms Thompson refused repeated requests to stop filming proceedings in the Chamber, which is not allowed. She then refused repeated requests to leave the public gallery. The chair was left with no other option other than to call the police to remove her from the gallery so that County Council business could proceed."

David Allen Green, lawyer and legal correspondent of New Statesman, said: "The circumstances of the arrest of Mrs Thompson are concerning. In general terms, it is important that police and local authorities do not use 'breach of the peace' as the basis of arresting at will, especially when there are free expression and public accountability issues at stake. I hope this was not what happened with Mrs Thompson. On what we know, it seems alarming, illiberal and misconceived."

In February, Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, wrote on the blog ConservativeHome that "New technology – particularly social media – means new opportunities to scrutinise councils; while the growing interest in citizen journalism and blogging means more people wanting to hold their council to account. It’s important that we keep pace with these new developments. So it’s disappointing that some council officers seem stuck in the analogue age: with some banning videoing, tweeting or liveblogging."

via telegraph.co.uk