§ Lord Spensasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the concept of "dawn" arrests accompanied by press and television cameras is consistent with the concept of "fair" trial and whether instructions have been given to end this practice.
Earl FerrersThe decision about when to arrest a person is an operational matter for the chief officer of the police force involved.
The police do not provide the press with information about impending arrests. There is some evidence, though, that members of the press and other media, contrary to the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949, sometimes monitor police radio wavelengths in order to pick up such information.