Safety first | 21 January 2016

This week brings to a close an absurdly overblown cause célèbre. The Court of Appeal ruled that David Miranda’s detention at Heathrow three years ago under the Terrorism Act was lawful. He had been part of a professional operation leaking classified information to the Guardian, which compromised British and American national security.

Yet the judgement was hailed as a victory for Miranda because the court also noted that the Terrorism Act didn’t include sufficient protection for journalists carrying sensitive information. It asked Parliament to look again, in order that it be compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights — even though, in this case, there was no breach.

This magazine is a staunch defender of press freedom. We have opposed a statutory press regulation body, as recommended by Lord Leveson after his inquiry into phone hacking and the ethics of the press. But as Oliver Wendell Holmes noted a century ago, the right to free speech does not excuse someone who falsely shouts ‘fire!’ in a crowded theatre.