On October 12th, after ten years, the residents of Dale Farm traveller’s site lost their final bid to overturn their eviction, when the High Court refused them the right to appeal the judgement.  With every legal option exhausted, it was simply down to the matter of eviction, so I was sent down to cover the unfolding story.

By way of background, the two sides of the story were pretty straightforward. The case for the prosecution had built its argument on the fact that the Dale Farm site was based on Metropolitan Green Belt land so, as such, building and development laws were very strict.   No official applications had been made for the homes of the 80 families.  The residents had based their defence on the fact that, prior to them moving onto the land, it had been a scrap yard and a Police car pound, not protected land.  They argued that the eviction was simply based on a bias against the travelling community.

Whichever was correct, the law came down on the side of Basildon council, and I found myself driving east before dawn on the first day that an eviction attempt could take place.  Having visited the site once before for a press conference following an earlier reprieve, it was clear that this really was looking like the end this time.  Police and bailiffs had sectioned off large areas around the camp, with secure media parking, staff canteens and toilet facilities, as they prepared for the long week ahead.  While I’d been allowed inside on my previous visit, the camp was now very much on lock-down, with only a handful of journalists and photographers who’d invested more time on covering the story allowed inside.

The day cruised by with very little to focus on as the fortified defences were strengthened around the site, and warnings and murals were painted onto the main entrance.  By 4pm, it was clear that nothing was going to happen, so I volunteered to return the next day and headed home.

Arriving at 6.15 the next morning, the vibe was very different and it was clear that today was the day.  Hundreds of police officers in full riot gear were gathered in the fields and car parks around the site, and the media parking was near-capacity when I pulled up.  Thankfully, there were two of us from AFP on shift that day, as I was joined by this year’s “News Photographer of the Year” Carl Court so we had the chance to spread out and cover more angles.  With Carl on the front door, I went cross-country and found a different way into the camp.  By the time I arrived at the main entrance, the police had already got through the defences and had claimed an area around the scaffold entrance.  Tensions were running high as residents argued with police and activists and supporters clashed with riot teams.  Bottles and bricks were soon flying through the air.  Thankfully, predicting the way it would go, I’d brought my helmet with me so was spared the constant fear of looking to the air for incoming missiles.

With police breaking through the defences at two points, it became harder to locate where the action was, but this was soon cleared up when a small puff of smoke went up.  Activists had dragged an empty caravan into the middle of one of the roads and set it alight.  While everyone dashed towards the smoke, it quickly became a rather embarrassing situation with photographers and camera crews stacked on top of each other to get the shot.  When a woman brought out a crucifix to hold as she stood in front of the blaze, we quickly realised how set up the shot was becoming.  Unfortunately, this is one of those situations that members of the media have to face sometimes.  While you’re sadly aware of how you’re being led into a picture, you have to shoot it.  Those that are unhappy with shooting any staged event during a live news situation will often sadly miss out as the papers want the “big shot” of the day, even it does feel contrived at the time of capture.  As an interesting side note, Italian photographer Ruben Salvadori recently released a fascinating but somewhat embarrassing film highlighting how photographers can often “create” the event without having to actually physically set anything up.

With two caravans now simply piles of smouldering plastic and metal, the focus returned to those activists that had built the structure around the main gate.  While they were in their “crows nest” above the main gate, police and bailiffs were unable to gain access to remove the military truck and debris that was blocking the access road.  After clearing most of the ground around it, the police sent in trained climbers to test the structure.  I’m well aware that I may get some criticism for this controversial statement here, but I’m constantly impressed with the police force that we have in this country.  While some of the more aggressive activists hurled abuse and rocks at them, they calmly worked out how to get the protesters in the structure down to the ground, without any injury or loss of life.  There are so many countries elsewhere in the world where, faced with this problem, the police would have gone in there with an armoured vehicle and just brought the whole thing down.  It baffles me how people can scream at these guys, accusing them of brutality when they so clearly are one of the most considered and ordered police forces in the world.

I guess I may have had different feelings if it was my house being threatened, but I like to think that I’d still be able to direct any anger I had at the people responsible.  Having said that, the police did use a Taser during the very first stages of entry into the camp which may have been a little over the top, but I guess when you’re faced with signs warning of imminent death, you may end up over-reacting a little.

Once the structure was cleared, the bailiffs entered the site, for the first time, to erect fencing around the newly secured area, and seeing that this would take some time to clear what they now controlled, I spent the rest of the day looking around the site.

With sunlight fading, the bailiffs were called off-site and the police erected security lights.  With the light gone, it was my turn to call it a day.

Now that the police had near-total control over the site, Thursday was always going to be less explosive than the previous day.  With the gate now secured, it was simply a case of clearing a path and getting on with addressing each of the blockades that had been built.  To ease tensions, police teams came onto the site to visit the houses that had been highlighted as legal, by residents, and got the chance to explain that the bailiffs would not be coming roaring onto the site to destroy the buildings today.  By now, the residents were clearly just waiting to go and most had packed up their belongings and were passing the time until they could drive away from the site.

Once the police teams had cleared the protesters from under a former Soviet army truck, they moved on to two people who had attached their hands together through a barrel.  Sensing that the end of the protest was near, other activists came to say goodbye to them as they left the site, resulting in emotional scenes.

With the “Industrial muncher” (as Sky News called it) tearing the final parts of the defences down, it was time for the residents to finally say goodbye to their home of the last decade.  Whatever you think of the travelling community, it must be so hard to see your community split apart like this.  It’s a real shame that this could not have been resolved amicably between residents and Basildon Council.

I hope their next site brings them more luck and hopefully, stability.

Following a strong grassroots campaign to raise awareness among photographers of the potential threat to their livelihood, I’ve just followed the advice given at stop43.org.uk and written to my MP on the subject.  For those of you either unaware of the Digital Economy Bill or unsure of what it’s about, head over to the stop43 site.  It really is important that any photographer reading this gets in touch with their representative in the House of Commons to push for them to raise a question when it next comes up for debate.

You can either email your MP through www.writetothem.com or, if you can, it’s better to write a proper letter as then they have to reply to you individually rather than just hitting the delete key.

I’ve included a copy of my letter below that is a minced-up version of the well-written text from the stop43 site and my own style of writing.  Feel free to copy and tweak the text before sending your own letter.

Dear xxx,

This is the first time that I’ve ever felt the need to write to a politician before but there is currently a bill being passed through Parliament that is very likely to affect countless photographers throughout the country.

Until now, if someone found one of my photographs and wanted to use it commercially, they couldn’t without first asking me. Clause 43 of the UK Digital Economy Bill changes this by allowing the use of “Orphan Works” i.e. photographs, illustrations and other artworks whose owners cannot be found.

The proposed Clause 43 says that if someone finds one of my photographs, wants to use it and decides that they can’t trace me, they’re free to do whatever they like with it after paying a small fee to a UK Government-appointed “licensing body”. Any photographer affected will more than likely never know unless he/she happens to find it being used in this way. If they did manage to find it, only then would they be able to claim some money.

Even worse than this is that Clause 43 also introduces “Extended Collective Licensing”.

This means that if someone wanted to use one of my images, they don’t have to actually approach me. They could go to a UK Government-appointed “collecting society” and ask them instead. In this way, they’d pay an arbitrary fee and be able to do whatever they like with my photograph. This totally removes any value from the image. If I have an exclusive picture, why would anyone come to me for a fair price when they can go straight to the “collecting society” and pay a standard lower rate?

Can you imagine if this was talking about something commercially manufactured like cars? If I saw one for sale for £20,000, I could either pay the owner or choose to pay a Government body a nominal fee instead. Finally, the car’s owner would only get paid if they knew whom to approach to get the money from.

It really is a terribly thought out bill and I strongly request that you consider my concerns when the bill comes up for discussion or vote.

Yours sincerely,

Leon Neal

The address to send your letters to is;

(First name) (Second name) MP
House of Commons
London SW1A 0AA

Now get on it, peeps..

Yesterday, I was put on “Climate Camp” watch along with fellow AFP photographer and good friend Shaun Curry.  Following a few days of media hype with demonstrators refusing to give any information on their planned camp site location and the police offering “community-style” policing if the demonstrators were prepared to cooperate, we both went to our pre-arranged meeting points. With seven groups announced on the group’s website, I headed to the headquarters of Rio Tinto where the 70 or so protestors sat around waiting until we finally got the go-ahead and travelled via tube and train to the mystery final destination.  Before we started to move, all of the media were handed “guidelines” and here is where my annoyance begins.  While economic and environmental protest groups were falling over themselves to get images and video from members of the media following the recent trouble at the Mayday demonstrations in central London, they were now imposing their own rules.  It seems that as long as the footage shows evidence of police errors, the media is their friend.

With an official but smaller version available here, I’ll just pick a few choice highlights for you.  Firstly, it should be pointed out that the eventual destination and current climate camp is on Blackheath which is public common land.  This means that it’s open for the public to access and enjoy at all times.

You will be accompanied by an assigned camper during that time, who will ensure that both campers and journalists are kept happy, and can ensure that consent is obtained from people being filmed and photographed.

Outside of these hours, there will also be a particular spot close to the entrance to which TV crews can be escorted to do interviews.

What? So in a public area that has been cordoned off with temporary fencing by the protest groups, we have to ask permission to access this land which will only be granted between certain hours (10:00-16:00) and only if guided by a steward?  On the plus side, for some reason this year’s occupation doesn’t feel as insane as last year where the group illegally occupied land by the side of Heathrow airport and THEN started telling the media when we were allowed to come onto their land and to respect their rights and not to try to come onto their land at any other times.

Certain neighbourhoods and work spaces may decide to ‘opt out’ of the media access policy, and no journalists of any kind should go to these spaces in any kind of capacity. This is not because these areas have ‘anything to hide’ but because the camp process respects the right of those neighbourhoods and working groups who don’t feel comfortable engaging with the media. Our ability to provide wider access to the camp depends on us being able to respect the decision of these groups to opt out like this. Journalists will be informed by the media team on arrival which neighbourhoods and spaces have opted out. The neighbourhoods that opt out may change during the week.

Again, I’m not allowed to go to certain areas of this publicly-owned land because some people have decided that the laws that cover media access and control for every other part of society aren’t quite good enough for them.  However, if they decide that they now want publicity, they have the right to suddenly beckon the journalists in to record their experiences.

In another sheet, we are also told that “you must display your press badge at all times“.  The logic behind this is that “if you’re identifiable as a press journalist..then you’ll find it easier to get an insight into the camp”.  So it’s fine to retain your anonymity if you’re a protestor but not if you’re media.  ID cards anyone?

The guide goes on to say that “if you want to take a picture or video and it includes people, always always ask first.  If you can’t ask, don’t take the picture“  Again, UK law says if someone is in public and not on private property and as long as they’re over 16, you’re free to take whatever pictures you want.  This is a part of UK law that should be protected to the end as without this, how does the media hope to get a picture of anyone?  As soon as controls of this type are introduced, our hands are effectively tied.  The fact that these restrictions are trying to be enforced by “Smash the System” ecological and financial protestors would be hilarious if it wasn’t so stupid.  I was shooting for about ten minutes before I was told to stop.  When I enquired why, I was told I had to ask everyone first.  I told him that I didn’t and he informed me that camp policy was to strongly request me to ask first.  I informed him that I’d officially heard his strong request and chosen to ignore it.  I carried on shooting, he stopped talking.  Grrr..

For further reading on this situation, check out Jonathan Warren’s blog here.

Now after reading all of that, the last thing that I want you to think is that I’m some Neo-Con Littlejohn fan.  Far from it, I would hate people to grow up and live their lives thinking that they were unable to change the things in the world that they disagreed with.  The feeling that you can change the world is such a vital thing for everyone to feel at some point in their lives whether it’s for a phase during the College/University years or for their whole lives.  My problem comes from organisations believing that they have the right to cry that the world’s not fair and then bring in rules and regulations that are far tighter than the governing bodies that they rebel against.

At home, I have eco-bulbs, I reuse my shopping bags, I never use the standby function on my tv and I use public transport.  However, I now really feel like buying a Hummer..

Wotcha all.. A break from my usual drivel to bring you a public information message. Anyone who’s been badgered by the hobbybobbies (Community Support Officers) when taking a picture should view this film. It gives an example of how ridiculous they can be and what your rights are. I particularly like his “Shut up”. Pure professional.. Enjoy

Anyone having trouble with the embedded video above can follow this link..