Confidence in journalists?
Sir: In his characteristic eagerness to de- fend the prerogatives of the state against the liberties of the individual, Paul John- son in his 'Law rules the pen' (The Press, 14 April) entirely misses the point at issue in X Ltd v Morgan Grampian (Publishers) Ltd and others. The protection of journa- listic sources has nothing to do with, in Paul Johnson's words, granting journalists 'a special statutory right to a supralegal "conscience".' Lost amid Mr Johnson's moral outrage that anyone should conceal anything from the state is the fundamental right granted to individuals in most real- tively free societies to 'privileged com- munications'. This means that in normal law, a citizen can confide in a physician, psychiatrist, spouse, police officer or con- fessor without fear of having his confidence violated or his identity revealed. The ques- tion is whether journalists fall within the category of people in whom a citizen ought to be able to confide. Obviously, anyone would trust William Goodwin, who has shown that he will face prison rather than reveal a source. Would any individual, knowing that he might face loss of employ- ment or prison if his identity were known, place similar trust in Paul Johnson?
Charles Glass
The Travellers' Club, London SW1
Paul Johnson writes: How does one begin to put right someone as muddled and ignorant as Charles Glass, who clearly has not troubled to read the judgment which was the subject of my article? The state was not involved in this case which was a civil action taken by two firms to preserve their businesses and the jobs of their employees. What I was defending, as were the five judges, was the rule of law, to which the state and everyone else — including journal- ists — must be subject. If Mr Glass finds difficulty in distinguishing between state and law, I suggest he reads my History of the Modern World, one principal theme of which is the danger posed by the modern state and the need to place it under the authority of an independent judiciary and freely elected Parliament.
'Your papers appear to be in order, Mr Chang.'
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