Courts approve police demand for riots footage

The news organisations are likely to give police free rein on raw and broadcast pictures after being served with court production orders by Scotland Yard. The move will give police access to additional evidence to support their investigation into the civil unrest across the country in August.

The development has drawn criticism from broadcast news professionals on Twitter. The BBC, ITN and Sky News were all at pains to stress that it was not their standard policy to share footage with the police.

“Police requests for BBC untransmitted material are dealt through our legal department, regardless of the subject matter,” a BBC spokeswoman said.

“We require requests for untransmitted material to be made through the courts. A production order requiring footage of the riots was served on the BBC and a court agreed that the material should be supplied.”

It is understood that ITN will hand over footage obtained by both ITV and Channel 4 News.

A spokesman said: “ITN’s policy is that we do not release unbroadcast material to police. On some occasions when the police apply to a judge for a court order to force the release of such material, we have challenged the police’s application.”

Sky News has also agreed to request. “Our standard policy is that we do not supply material to the police without a court order. On occasions - as has happened with some of our footage of the riots - where police request untransmitted material and an order is obtained we will comply with it,” a spokeswoman said.

A Metropolitan police spokesman said: “The police are identifying people through pictures, CCTV and through the media to ensure that people are brought to justice. We would ask the media to work with the police to ensure that happens.”

Separately last month, the BBC, Sky News and UTV launched a stinging attack on the Northern Ireland police force’s “indiscriminate” demands for media footage of social unrest. They wrote to the Police Service of Northern Ireland to express their concern at increased requests to hand over footage from incidents including the Belfast riots last month.