HC Deb 03 May 1983 vol 42 cc137-8

`(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, in this Act "excluded material" means—

  1. (a) items subject to legal privilege;
  2. (b) material of either of the following descriptions which a person has acquired or created in the course of any trade, business, profession or other occupation or for the purposes of any paid or unpaid office held by him and which he holds in confidence—
    1. (i) personal records;
    2. (ii) human tissue or tissue fluid taken for the purposes of diagnosis or medical treatment;
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  3. (c) journalistic material which consists of documents or other records and which a person holds in confidence.
(2) A person holds material other than journalistic material in confidence for the purposes of this section if he holds it subject—
  1. (a) to an express or implied undertaking on his part to hold it in confidence; or
  2. (b) to a restriction on disclosure or an obligation of secrecy contained in any enactment, whether it is in an Act passed before or an Act passed after this Act.
 (3) A person holds journalistic material in confidence for the purposes of this section if—
  1. (a) he holds it subject to such an undertaking, restriction or obligation; and
  2. (b) it has been continuously held (by one or more persons) subject to such an undertaking, restriction or obligation since it was first acquired or created for the purposes of journalism.
 (4) If by virtue of any enactment other than section [Access to special procedure material] and Schedule [Special procedure] below a justice of the peace or judge, upon the application of a constable, may issue a warrant to him authorising him to enter premises and search for anything in them for the purposes of a criminal investigation, the things for which a search may be authorised are not excluded material.'. —[Mr. Whitelaw.]

Brought up, read the First and Second time, and added to the Bill.

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