UK Parliament returns: RSF sets out 10 tests for the government's commitment to press freedom

As the Burnham government begins its new parliamentary programme, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is calling for press freedom to be placed at the heart of the government's agenda.

The UK currently ranks 18th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2026 World Press Freedom Index, an improvement from 20th place in 2025. But this ranking should not obscure serious and continuing threats at home: abusive 'SLAPP' lawsuits, attacks on journalists, declining trust in the media, online abuse against journalists, increasing mis- and disinformation through AI andthe misuse of state powers against journalists and their sources.

Globally, RSF's 2026 Index recorded the worst overall level of press freedom in 25 years, with weakened media economies, hostile political discourse and laws increasingly being used as weapons against journalism.

At the same time, Britain has an unusually important opportunity to lead on the international stage. The UK became co-chair of the Media Freedom Coalition (MFC) on 1 March 2026, alongside Finland, for a two-year term. The government, therefore, has both an international platform from which it can help shape the global response to the growing crisis facing journalism, and the chance to lead by example on its national policies.

RSF's 10 tests for the Burnham government

1. Tackle mis- and disinformation through supporting journalism

The announcement of a new National Centre for Information Defence by the government recognises the scale of the threat, particularly as AI and social media platforms have made it easier and cheaper to create and circulate false content. Information resilience cannot be built by government alone, and it cannot be achieved without a strong, independent news ecosystem.

RSF calls on the government to move forward with the recommendations outlined in our response to the Watch this Space media Green Paper, which includes giving national and local news meaningful, pluralistic prominence over misinformation on major online platforms, with transparent criteria and independent oversight.

It should ensure that public service media have the stable and adequate funding they need. For example, that means avoiding any repeat of the uncertainty around BBC World Service funding and investing in independent journalism and effective media literacy programmes so that people have access to both reliable information and the skills to assess what they encounter online.

Fighting poor quality information is not enough - we need good quality information to replace it. At a time when AI is accelerating the production and spread of misleading content, independent journalism must be considered a key part of the solution in the fight against misinformation.

2. Enable a sustainable, plural and independent media ecosystem in a world with AI

Press freedom can't survive without viable journalism. The UK's media economy remains under significant pressure, while ownership is highly concentrated: RSF's 2026 Index notes that just three companies dominate the national newspaper market. Public service media and local journalism both continue to face financial and structural pressure.

The government has recognised the scale of the challenge through its Local Media Action Plan and £6 million Local News Fund for 2026/27, with up to a further £6 million available in 2027/28. It should protect that commitment and ensure support for public interest journalism into the future.

The government should also use its forthcoming media White Paper and BBC Charter Review to strengthen the long-term sustainability and independence of public service media and journalism.

AI is rapidly changing the economics of journalism. The government should ensure that AI companies do not leverage the value of journalism without fairly compensating those who produce it, and should support the principles of RSF's Paris Charter on AI and Journalism, including human editorial control, transparency, respect for copyright and fair compensation for journalistic content.

Journalism is democratic infrastructure. The government must ensure that its economic, tech platform and AI policies ensure independent journalism has a viable future, rather than allowing its value and audiences to be cannibalised by large technology platforms.

3. Tackle online violence against journalists

Online violence has real consequences. It can affect journalists' safety, mental health, ability to report and decision to remain in the profession. The government's 2026 research found that nearly three-quarters of surveyed UK journalists had experienced harassment, abuse, threats or legal intimidation connected to their work, with online abuse among the most widespread harms.

RSF has repeatedly warned about the impact of online abuse, particularly on women journalists, and has called for a stronger and more consistent police response. As RSF has recommended in response to the recent consultation, the government should ensure that the Online Safety Act and Ofcom's enforcement regime work for journalists in practice, with clear routes for reporting and escalating serious threats, and meaningful enforcement when platforms fail to meet their responsibilities.

Police must also be equipped to recognise and respond to online threats against journalists, including the gendered nature of the abuse. Journalists should not be expected to tolerate sustained harassment as simply part of the job, and those facing serious threats should have access to practical safety, legal and wellbeing support.

The government's own research has also found that platform design can contribute to online violence against women and girls, reinforcing the case for prevention and safety by design, rather than placing responsibility on users alone. Online abuse must not be allowed to be the price of doing journalism.

4. Tackle impunity for attacks on journalists in the UK

Journalists cannot be safe if those who threaten, attack or kill them believe they will escape justice. The UK must do more to ensure that attacks on journalists are properly investigated, prosecuted and punished, including where the failures are longstanding.

Northern Ireland shows the cost of impunity. Six years after the murder of journalist Lyra McKee, the recent trial ended without a conviction for her murder, while the gunman has still not been brought before a court. And 25 years after the murder of Sunday World journalist Martin O'Hagan, no one has been held accountable. The Police Ombudsman's report into the failed police investigation remains unpublished, despite calls for its release and a fresh investigation.

This failure sends a dangerous message to journalists who continue to face threats and violence. The government should work with the Northern Ireland authorities to strengthen the investigation and prosecution of crimes against journalists, ensure that failures are independently examined, and press for accountability where cases remain unresolved.

The threat is not confined to Northern Ireland: Three men are currently on trial in London over allegations that they conducted surveillance and planned serious violence against journalists at Iran International on behalf of the Iranian state. This follows the 2024 stabbing in London of Iran International journalist Pouria Zeraati, for which two men were convicted and sentenced in 2026.

Journalists working in the UK must know that when they are targeted for doing their jobs, the state will defend them and those responsible will be pursued. Impunity is not just a failure of justice - it is a threat to press freedom.

5. Use Britain's international platform and make the UK's MFC co-chairmanship count

The UK has been co-chair of the Media Freedom Coalition (MFC) for two years alongside Finland. Established in London, at the inaugural Global Conference for Media Freedom, the coalition brings together 51 governments and works with civil society, UNESCO and the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom.

The government should build on its original ambitions for the MFC and set out clear priorities for its co-chairmanship, using British diplomatic missions systematically to attend trials, visit detained journalists, raise individual cases with governments and press for accountability abroad.

RSF also calls on the government to take on the High Level Panel's recommendations at home, including the longstanding call for emergency visas and safe refuge for journalists at serious risk. RSF has repeatedly urged states to introduce emergency visas and long-term protection for journalists forced into exile.

The UK must be willing to challenge allies as well as adversaries. Britain's credibility as MFC co-chair will depend on whether it speaks up when journalists are attacked or when press freedom is restricted by governments with which the UK has close diplomatic, security or economic relationships. That should mean sustained pressure on the international stage, including for the protection of journalists in Gaza, where the scale of killings and restrictions on independent reporting represents one of the most serious press freedom crises in the world.

6. Draw a line under political hostility towards journalists

The government should set a clear standard: journalists must not be denied access, intimidated, blacklisted or discredited by parties or public authorities because of their reporting. It should commit to transparent media access rules for events of democratic importance such as party conferences, with objective accreditation criteria, reasons for refusals and a meaningful appeal process. Access must never be used as a reward for favourable coverage or a punishment for critical reporting.

Across the political spectrum, journalists have faced attempts to restrict access, discredit reporting or intimidate those investigating political actors. Party conference access has become a recurring flashpoint: Declassified UK was again denied accreditation to Labour's conference in 2026, while Reform UK has restricted access for journalists critical of the party, after RSF raised previous concerns involving Labour and the Conservatives. The 'Labour Together' affair saw a Labour-linked organisation commission a report investigating journalists which was subsequently passed on to intelligence officials. At the local level, Reform-run Nottinghamshire County Council blocked Nottinghamshire Live journalists from access in 2025, while Reform-run Derbyshire County Council has this month stopped engaging with local democracy reporter Eddie Bisknell. This year, Reform-linked figures have faced further criticism over attempts to scrutinise or investigate journalists: Richard Tice threatened legal action against the Guardianover reporting on Reform finances, while Arron Banks acknowledged commissioning private investigators to examine Sunday Timesjournalist Gabriel Pogrund.

7. Pass a comprehensive anti-SLAPP law

Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation remain one of the clearest ways in which wealthy or powerful actors can chill legitimate journalism.

The UK has made partial progress through the Anti-SLAPP provisions in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act, but those protections are limited to the economic-crime context. RSF has repeatedly called for a comprehensive framework to protect journalists from abusive litigation.

There is now an opportunity to make more progress. Two Private Members' Bills are before Parliament: Sir John Whittingdale's Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation Bill in the Commons, due for second reading on 27 November, and Baroness Stowell's Bill in the Lords.

RSF calls on the government to take this opportunity to support Anti-SLAPP legislation that gives journalists and other SLAPP targets a meaningful route to dismissing abusive claims early, protection from crippling legal costs and which places public interest at the heart of the test.

8. Tackle transnational repression against journalists

A year after the Joint Committee on Human Rights called for stronger action on transnational repression, the question is no longer whether the UK understands the threat, but whether its response is making people demonstrably safer.

RSF, as part of the Tackling Transnational Repression in the UK Working Group, supports a four-part approach: monitor, respond, support and prevent. This means ensuring people can report threats and access support; improving training and coordination across public bodies; protecting against the misuse of mechanisms such as INTERPOL red notices; and ensuring that serious cases carry appropriate diplomatic consequences.

The government should implement the recommendations of the JCHR report. This should include creating a trusted route for reporting TNR outside of just 999 and 111, improving support for those at risk, and regularly reporting on the scale of the threat and the actions taken. It should also ensure that monitoring and support extend to those threats that fall below the criminal threshold: intimidation does not become less impactful simply because it is difficult to prosecute.

The UK must also recognise the particular role of journalists and media organisations operating in exile. They are often among the few remaining sources of independent information for audiences inside authoritarian states, and should be treated as an asset in the fight against propaganda rather than be left vulnerable to the repression they already fled. The government must be able to demonstrate that journalists and others who come to the UK for their safety are actually safer once they arrive.

9. Protect British journalists and media workers abroad - and establish a right to meaningful assistance

British journalists and media workers must not become expendable when they cross a border. The government must be far more assertive in defending those facing imprisonment, violence or death because of their work overseas.

Jimmy Lai, the British publisher of Apple Daily, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in Hong Kong in February 2026 under the territory's national security legislation. RSF has repeatedly called for his immediate and unconditional release. RSF welcomes Prime Minister Burnham's recent interventions, including raising Mr Lai's case with President Trump. But this must be followed by sustained action. The Prime Minister should meet Sebastien Lai and make securing his father's release a personal priority.

The government has now created an Envoy for Complex Consular Detentions, with Alistair Burt appointed to the role in July. RSF welcomes this step, but the role must now be given authority, resourcing and political backing for it to make a meaningful difference in cases such as Jimmy Lai's.

More broadly, the government should establish a clear right to consular assistance for British journalists and media workers who are detained, threatened or attacked abroad because of their work, as promised in their manifesto. Assistance should include high-level diplomatic engagement, meaningful consular access, legal and practical support, coordination with families and employers, and clear escalation when arbitrary detention or serious threats continue.

The killing of British media worker Ryan Evans in a strike on the Hotel Sapphire in Kramatorsk in August 2024 is a stark reminder of the risks that journalists face. Where journalists and media workers are killed or seriously attacked, the UK should support efforts to establish the truth and secure accountability. This should include revisiting the JCHR's recommendation to expand universal jurisdiction for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, so that perpetrators cannot evade justice simply because crimes are committed beyond the UK.

British journalists and media workers must know that their government will stand behind them when they are targeted simply for doing their jobs.

10. Stop national security powers being used as a weapon against journalism

RSF's recent report, National Security as a Weapon Against Journalism, warns that security and counter-terrorism frameworks are increasingly being used to criminalise journalism and suppress reporting in the public interest. It calls for public interest safeguards, stronger source protection and meaningful judicial oversight.

The government should commission an independent review of national security and investigate how the public order act impacts journalists' ability to cover protests and public disorder. The government should also ask the Independent Reviewer of State Threats Legislation to report publicly on any risks to press freedom. National security must not become an ever-expanding justification for restricting journalism: restrictions must be exceptional, necessary and proportionate, with independent oversight and an effective route to challenge misuse.

Recent surveillance cases show why stronger safeguards are needed. In July 2026, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal found thatsurveillance of former BBC Northern Ireland Home Affairs Correspondent Vincent Kearney involved unlawful and disproportionate interference with his rights. The case follows the Tribunal's 2024 ruling that the surveillance of journalists Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey was unlawful.

The McCullough Review was an important first step in making clear that PSNI unlawfully surveilled journalists. The government should take concrete steps to strengthen protections for journalists, including stronger scrutiny whenever police or other agencies seek to access journalists' communications, devices or source material.

Protecting a journalist's sources is the foundation of investigative journalism and without it, whistleblowers, victims and insiders cannot safely speak to the press.

A test of leadership

Britain has spent years speaking up for Media Freedom, in parliament, on the international stage, through its founding of and renewed co-chairmanship of the Media Freedom Coalition. Former Prime Minister Keir Starmer rightly described journalism as the lifeblood of democracy. The new Burnham government now has an opportunity to make Britain a place where journalism is not just praised as essential, but protected as democratic infrastructure.