British PM threatens to act against press over leaks

London – British Prime Minister David Cameron has threatened unspecified action over the Guardian newspaper’s remarkable disclosures of American intelligence material, saying officials would find it tough to stand back if the media don’t show enough restraint over what they publish.

Although Britain has no First Amendment-like protection guaranteeing freedom of the press from official interference, governments have generally relied on informal lobbying to keep sensitive national security stories out of the papers.

Cameron told lawmakers today that his government is trying to talk to media outlets about “how damaging some of these things can be.”

But he said that if the outlets “don’t demonstrate some social responsibility it would be very difficult for government to stand back and not to act.”