BBC, Sky, ITN ordered to hand over Dale Farm footage

The BBC, ITN and Sky News have been ordered to hand over hours of un-broadcast footage of the evictions at Dale Farm last year after losing a court battle with the police.

The three broadcasters, which this week teamed up to call for an end to the ban on TV cameras in courtrooms, were ordered to disclose footage filmed at the Travellers' camp on October 18 and 19.

Essex police successfully secured the production order from a judge at Chelmsford magistrates court on Monday. Some freelance production teams were also included in the order.

The judge ruled that it is in the public interest for police to assess the footage for any potential crimes, after deciding that it would not be damaging for the free press.

The police argued that the footage could be used to identity people responsible for "the assault of a number of officers" during the violent clashes around the Travellers' eviction.

However, the broadcasters had questioned the move over fears that their journalists involved, including the team behind BBC Panorama's coverage of Dale Farm, could be viewed by the public as evidence-gatherers for the police.

They are now understood to be considering challenging the order, particularly as it is thought to cover footage of a police officer using a stun gun at close range.

A spokesman for ITN told The Guardian: "We are disappointed by this ruling as we opposed the production order to protect our news-gathering personnel and on a matter of journalistic principle. We are reviewing the details of the ruling and seriously considering whether to appeal."

An Essex Police spokesman said: "We have been granted the right to obtain relevant footage from the media organisations that were present during the enforcement action during October 2011.

"The material is expected to be handed over to the police in the next few weeks. We will then proceed to identify those individuals who committed crimes at Dale Farm."

Last September, the BBC, Sky and ITN were ordered to hand over hundreds of hours of un-broadcast footage of the UK riots after being served with court orders by the Metropolitan police.