Newspapers defy order to hand over secret documents

Solicitors for a multi-national brewing company yesterday failed to force four national newspapers and a news agency to hand over confidential documents relating to a proposed City takeover bid.

The Independent, The Financial Times, The Times, The Guardian, and Reuters, all refused to comply with a court order to release the documents when a legal representative of the Belgian brewer Interbrew visited their offices.

All five were handed a court order which warned that unless they complied with its terms they risked seizure of their assets. An earlier order served on the defendants makes it clear that if they are found to be in contempt of court they face imprisonment and heavy fines.

But the news organisations believe that giving up the leaked documents will lead to the identity of their sources.

On Wednesday the House of Lords refused to grant permission for a full hearing of the appeal case, which lawyers argue raises serious implications for the freedom of the press.

Solicitors acting for Interbrew yesterday visited the offices of the four newspapers, and the Reuters news agency, and on each occasion left the premises empty-handed.

The apparently doctored documents referred to a possible takeover of South African Breweries (SAB) by the Belgian brewery company, Interbrew.

Last year media coverage of the proposed £4.6 billion takeover sent SAB shares soaring and Interbrew's stock sinking.

After the visit from Interbrew's solicitors the Board of Independent News & Media (UK), publishers of The Independent, issued a statement saying it had "declined to disclose any sources or reveal any documents to Interbrew or its advisers". It also confirmed that the paper would be taking the case to the European Court of Human Rights.

Simon Kelner, Editor-in-Chief of The Independent, said last night: "We have clearly set out our position which is to protect our journalist sources. The principle is fundamental to a free press in a democratic society, and is one we shall continue to defend."

Mr Kelner and The Guardian's editor, Alan Rusbridger, received the order personally from Interbrew's lawyers.

George Brock, managing editor of The Times, and Hugh Carnegy, the deputy managing editor of the Financial Times, accepted the document at their offices.

Robert Thomson, editor of The Times, said: "Fundamental principles of press freedom are in danger of being compromised.

"Sources do need protection, even if their motives are not entirely clear. In general, the whistle-blower has always had an important role, and any action which would make it more difficult for honourable citizens to expose corporate wrongdoing, particularly at this time, can hardly be in the public interest."

Andrew Gowers, editor of the Financial Times , said: "At a time when corporate malfeasance is in the air, whistleblowers have a key role to play in uncovering fraud."

He added: "Enforcing this judgment ­ or otherwise forcing disclosure in this matter - will make people think twice before blowing the whistle on fraudsters."

Interbrew's solicitor David Sandy, a partner at Simmons & Simmons, was yesterday reported as saying that "responsible journalists" who check their sources would be unaffected by Interbrew's actions and that a planned appeal to Strasbourg would be unsuccessful.

"The court protects accurate and reliable journalism. This was not accurate and reliable journalism," he said.

Interbrew has told the newspapers and Reuters that it would hand the documents over to the Financial Services Authority (FSA) if they were successful in their court action.

An FSA spokeswoman refused to be drawn on whether the financial watchdog would seek its own court order if Interbrew's legal action failed to uncover the documents.

She said yesterday: "We need to obtain these documents since they are primary evidence that a crime has been committed. The allegation is that the documents were deliberately doctored and deliberately circulated to give an impression about share price."

COMPANY STATEMENT

'Independent stands by its journalistic principles'

The board of Independent News & Media (UK) announced yesterday that when visited by representatives of Interbrew it declined to disclose any sources or reveal any documents to Interbrew or its advisers.

A free press is fundamental to The Independent's editorial principles, and at a time when corporate governance is a matter of increasing public interest, the need to protect journalistic sources is paramount.

The board will be taking its case to the European Court of Human Rights, where it is confident that The Independent's stance will be upheld.