"The equivalent protection for UK journalists is in the Contempt of Court Act of 1981. It states:
'No court may require a person to disclose, nor is any person guilty of contempt of court for refusing to disclose, the source of information contained in a publication for which he is responsible, unless it be established to the satisfaction of the court that disclosure is necessary in the interests of justice or national security or for the prevention of disorder or crime.'
So while there is no absolute protection for sources in UK law, the court is required to judge if the request for source identification is sufficiently in the public interest or the interests of justice or national security to over-ride a general presumption of source protection. Recent cases have tended to favour the journalist's right to protect his sources."
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