Catalogue Number
NMLH.1995.65.32
Object Name
Badge
Title
ABC are innocent!
People
Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ)
Events
ABC Trial
Date
1970s
Description
Round yellow badge, "ABC are innocent!" in red. The badge was produced in the 1970s during the ABC Trial (R v Aubrey, Berry and Campbell), in which three men - two libertarian journalists and a resigned GCHQ source - were tried for officences under the Official Secrets Act 1911. The defendants had tried to heighten scrutiny of government-authorised wire-tapping and to limit the work of American spies in Britain. The case was seen as an embarrassment to the British state, and resulted in a new Official Secrets Act 1989. Future governments have since generally refrained from prosecuting journalists.
Multimedia
