DSMA-Notice
 DSMA-Notice  (censorship)   | |
|---|---|
| Type | legal |
| An official request to news editors not to publish or broadcast items on specified subjects for reasons of national security, a system of censorship in use in the UK. | |
Contents
Official Narrative
The DA-notice system is a system of censorship in the UK run by a joint committee headed by an Assistant Secretary of the War Office and a representative of the Press Association. Officially, D-Notices and DA-notices are merely a request and therefore not legally enforceable and consequently news editors could choose to ignore them without official repercussions. In practice they are almost universally accepted by the UK commercially-controlled media.
History
The original D-Notice system was introduced in 1912.
In 1971 all existing D-Notices were cancelled and replaced by standing D-Notices that gave general guidance on what could be published and what could not, and what would require further advice from the secretary of the Defence, Press and Broadcasting Advisory Committee (DPBAC). In 1993 the notices were renamed DA-Notices.
As of 2008, there are five standing DA-Notices: [1]
- DA-Notice 01: Military Operations, Plans & Capabilities
- DA-Notice 02: Nuclear and Non-Nuclear Weapons and Equipment
- DA-Notice 03: Ciphers and Secure Communications
- DA-Notice 04: Sensitive Installations and Home Addresses
- DA-Notice 05: United Kingdom Security & Intelligence Special Services
D-Notice book
In October 2008 The Times reported that a book titled "Secrecy and the Media" and written by Rear-Admiral Nick Wilkinson, secretary of the DA Committee from 1999 to 2004, and covering the history of the Committee right up until his retirement was due to be published in May 2009. However the book - having been cleared by the Security Service (MI5), the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS/MI6), GCHQ, and the Foreign, Home and Cabinet Offices - ran into trouble when it hit the MoD.
Specifically, according to The Times, the book was harshly criticised by Wilkinson's successor at the DA Committee, Air Vice-Marshal Andrew Vallance. (The secretary of the committee is normally a retired senior military officer.) Vallance apparently argued that the book should be binned, not for spilling state secrets, but because it was "turgid" and poorly written.[2]
Anti-terror documents
On 8 April 2009 the Government issued a DA-Notice in relation to sensitive anti-terror documents photographed when Assistant-Commissioner Bob Quick arrived at Downing Street for talks about current intelligence [3]
Wikileaks
On 25 November 2010, the Government issued a DA-Notice in relation to sensitive documents expected to be imminently released on the website Wikileaks [4].
Australia
A voluntary system of D-Notices was also used in Australia starting in 1952 during the Cold War and were issued by the Defence, Press and Broadcasting Committee. At the first meeting of the Committee, eight D-Notices were issued covering atomic tests in Australia, aspects of naval shipbuilding, official ciphering, the number and deployment of Centurion tanks, troop movements in the Korean War, weapons and equipment information not officially released, aspects of air defence and certain aerial photographs.[5]
In 1974 the number of D-Notices was reduced to four, covering:[5]
- Technical information regarding navy, army and air force weapons, weapons systems, equipment and communications systems;
- Air operational capability and air defences;
- Whereabouts of Vladimir Petrov; and
- Ciphering and monitoring activities.
A fifth D-Notice relating to the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS) was issued in 1977.[5]
In 1982 D-Notices were again revised to four. [6]
- D Notice 1: Capabilities of the Australian Defence Force, Including Aircraft, Ships, Weapons, and Other Equipment;
- D Notice 2: Whereabouts of Mr and Mrs Vladimir Petrov;
- D Notice 3: Signals Intelligence and Communications Security; and
- D Notice 4: Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS).
The Defence, Press and Broadcasting Committee has not met since 1982 although the D-Notice system remains the administrative responsibility of the Minister for Defence.[5]
The D-Notice system fell out of common use at the end of the Cold War but remained in force. The 1995 Commission of Inquiry into the Australian Secret Intelligence Service reported that newspapers confessed ignorance that the D-Notice system was still operating when it was drawn to their attention in 1993 and 1994.[7]
Related Documents
| Title | Type | Publication date | Author(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Document:Probable Western Responsibility for Skripal Poisoning | blog post | 28 April 2018 | Craig Murray Clive Ponting | Those of us who have been in the belly of the beast and have worked closely with the intelligence services, really do know what they and the British government are capable of. They are not “white knights”. |
| Document:The D Notice | article | 3 August 2010 | Moyra Grant | |
| Document:Where They Tell You Not to Look | blog post | 30 April 2018 | Craig Murray | Craig Murray's rule number one of real investigative journalism: 1. Look Where They Tell You Not to Look |
References
- ↑ Details of the UK D-Notice system from dnotice.org.uk
- ↑ "Book about D-Notices gets D-Notice slapped on it"
- ↑ "Police chief Bob Quick steps down over terror blunder"
- ↑ 'That Wikileaks D Notice' - Guido Fawkes Blog 26 November 2010
- ↑ a b c d The D-Notice System - Pauline Sadler - Australian Press Council News May 2000
- ↑ Fact sheet 49 – D Notices - National Archives of Australia
- ↑ ISBN 0644432012 Report on the Australian Secret Intelligence Service - Commission of Inquiry into the Australian Secret Intelligence Service - Gordon J. Samuels and Michael H. Codd 1995 pages=114–115
External links
- National Archives of Australia
- Dr. Pauline Sadler, "The D-Notice System", on the Australian Press Council News website
- Nicholas Wilkinson:Secrecy and the Media. The Official History of the United Kingdom's D-Notice System, Routledge, Chapman & Hall, London 2009
