ABSTRACT
It is a long standing journalistic tenet that the identity of sources of information provided to the media for possible publication should not be revealed. The Press Complaints Commission Code of Practice places print journalists under an obligation not to reveal their sources,2 by providing that journalists have a moral obligation to protect confidential sources. The National Union of Journalists code of conduct contains a similar provision. The rationale for this principle was described by Morland J in John v Express3 in the following terms: ‘... it is vitally important, if the press is to perform its public function in our democracy, that a person possessed of information on matters of public interest should not be deterred from coming forward by fear of exposure. To encourage such disclosure, it is necessary to offer a thorough protection to confidential sources generally.’
