1988–1994 British broadcasting voice restrictions

Common card · No. 497642

From October 1988 to September 1994 the British government banned broadcasts of the voices of representatives from Sinn Féin and ten other Irish republican and loyalist groups on television and radio in the United Kingdom. The restrictions, announced by the Home Secretary, Douglas Hurd, on 19 October 1988, followed a heightened period of violence in the course of the Troubles, and reflected the UK government's belief in a need to prevent these groups from using the media for political advantage. Broadcasters quickly found ways around the ban, chiefly by using actors to dub the voices of speakers from banned organisations. The legislation did not apply during election campaigns and under certain other circumstances. The restrictions caused difficulties for British journalists who spoke out against censorship imposed by various other countries, such as by Iraq and India. Ireland had its own similar legislation dating from 1971 that banned anyone with links to paramilitary groups from the...

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