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I am a photographer - not a terrorist! Sadly, it seems that the civil rights of citizens are being trampled on in the name of Olympic security. The Guardian has carried a very worrying report about over zealous security guards at the O2 Arena accosting photographers, EVEN WHEN THEY WERE SHOOTING ON PUBLIC LAND. To test this, The Guardian sent a team to film some video of the O2, making very sure they were on the Queen's highway. Sure enough, the security guards accosted them, demanding that they stop and demanding also that they show what they had filmed. When The Guardian team tried to leave, the guards prevented them from doing so. The police were called, and this is where it gets REALLY worrying. Instead of telling the guards they had over-stepped their authority, they apparently took their side on the issue. So too did the O2 management, even though the security guards were in clear breach of the law. In the end, laughably, The Guardian team were allowed to leave when nobody could work out how to operate the playback! Let us be very clear about this: when standing on public land the press and public have a clear right to shoot still or moving images. Even a police officer does not have the right to stop them unless they have a reasonable suspicion that an offence is being committed. Also security guards have no authority whatsoever on public land. Does the worrying attitude of the guards, the O2 management and the police indicate an informal policy to ignore legal and civil rights in the name of Olympic security and, if so, who is responsible for this? Photographers cannot afford to let this go - if our civil rights are diminished it is likely they will never be recovered. I pledge to defend my right to take pictures from public land - and I will not back down in the face of intimidation or threats. Anyone who is not prepared to defend their rights, does not deserve them in the first place. Mike Dales's gallery contains 251 photos. 
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Gallery
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Mike Dales ARPS
Photographic Journeys
