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A WHEELCHAIR-bound photographer has been banned from taking shots of FLOWERS in a park - after council chiefs claimed it could breach HUMAN rights. Amateur snapper Alister Smith wrote to check it was okay to photograph the blooms near his home in Cambuslang. But a South Lanarkshire Council official knocked back his polite request - claiming they could be SUED by other park visitors who might appear in his pictures without consent.
Flower enthusiast Alister - who suffers from arthritis and uses a mobility scooter - had thought asking permission would be a simple formality. The stunned 54-year-old said: "I couldn't believe it when I got an email back. It was a categorical no. Citing human rights legislation is absolute nonsense. I don't want any photographs of people. All I want is to take pictures of the plants and the wildflowers. I thought by going down the official route I was doing the right thing."
Alister, who was a newsreader for BBC Scotland and Radio 3 in the 1980s, will now have to struggle to travel further for his photographs. He has been given the okay by Glasgow City Council with a similar request for their parks. He added: "I had to retire through ill health. Photography is one of the few hobbies I have where I can get out the house. I decided to seek permission because a friend was accosted by two rangers at a park for taking pictures. I don't want park attendants coming up and thinking I'm a terrorist or a paedophile."
Last night a South Lanarkshire Council spokesman said: "If a photographer takes a photograph of an individual they must give consent to its use. It opens the council to complaints and possible litigation. It is potentially an infringement of other people's human rights." But they said Alister's request to snap "flora and fauna" COULD be met. The spokesman added: "Taking pictures for personal family use is not a problem."
A spokesperson for South Lanarkshire Council said: “If a photographer takes a photograph of an individual that is the individual’s personal information and they must give consent to its use.
“It would be very difficult for the council to ensure that consent has been given therefore it opens the council to complaints and possible litigation.
“It is potentially an infringement of other people’s human rights as they have a right to privacy in their daily life and it is also a breach of the data protection act.”
THE CITY OF GLASGOW DISTRICT COUNCIL
CIVIC GOVERNMENT (SCOTLAND) ACT 1982
MANAGEMENT RULES REGULATING PUBLIC PARKS, GARDENS, OPEN SPACES AND
PLACES OF PUBLIC RESORT OR RECREATION
PART XII MISCELLANEOUS AND GENERAL
53 No person shall take photographs, including wedding party photographs, film or make
video or sound recordings for commercial or promotional purposes in any park or
building therein without having obtained prior written permission from the Director.
The Director reserves the right to levy a charge for any of the foregoing activities and
to require any party undertaking such activity to sign and return to the Department
any form of indemnity as may be required.
The well known and highly respected National Union of Journalist member David Hoffman, who is represented by Chez Cotton, head of the Police Misconduct Department at leading civil rights law firm Bindmans LLP, has received £30,000 damages today from the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis.
Mark N wrote:Braehead's "response"
Like most shopping centres, we have a ‘no photography’ policy in the mall for two reasons. First, to protect the privacy of staff and shoppers. as we are sure shoppers would not want strangers taking photographs of them or their children while they were in the mall.
It is not uncommon for those intending to make some kind of attack to take photographs of their intended target as part of their planning before the event.
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