The New Dark Age

Thursday, 2 July 2026 — Declassified UK

New legislation being rushed through Parliament could criminalise British journalists for simply engaging with certain state-backed groups.

The National Security (State Threats) Bill, currently in its final stages, would grant the Home Secretary powers to designate any state-backed organisation as a threat if it is judged prejudicial to the UK’s “safety and interests”.

Independent reviewers of terrorism legislation have cautioned that the bill’s vague drafting could expose journalists and aid workers to prosecution simply for engaging with a designated organisation, with sentences of up to 14 years possible.

The legislation would target anyone who “supports, assists, or obtains material benefits” including information from a group classed as terrorist, and goes further by criminalising not just receiving such a benefit but agreeing to accept one.

Crucially, the bill removes any “reasonable excuse” defence, leaving little room for those who can show their contact was incidental or professionally necessary.

Critics have warned that the bill could criminalise journalists for reporting casualty figures from Iranian authorities, hospital data from Gaza health officials, or details of Israeli military operations relayed by armed factions in Lebanon.

The practical effect could be to criminalise reporting that relies on sources outside Israel’s official military accounts.

The Home Office has insisted the bill is not intended to target journalists, though legal experts note that no explicit protections for reporters have so far been written into the text.

Press freedom groups have separately raised concerns, urging the government to amend the bill to include adequate protections.

Jeremy Corbyn warned that the bill represents “an alarming expansion of state power” and “an escalation of the government’s chilling assault on the right to protest,” adding that its “deliberately vague and open-ended” wording would let the home secretary “criminalise political campaigns of their choosing.”

The bill would mark a fitting final act for a premiership characterised by the erosion of civil liberties and the pursuit of a fundamentally anti-democratic agenda.