Help UK Member of Parliament defend photographers' rights

Jayel sez,

We have been trying to raise awareness about British MP Austin Mitchell's crusade to protect photographers' rights in the UK in FlickrCentral. And we are trying to help him out via a write-in campaign to other British MPs. It is a slow start, but we are doing everything we can including asking your readers for help.

We need information about:

1) Names and contact information of MPs
2) Civil liberties group that we can contact
3) Other ways we can raise awareness about this issue.

Link, Link to They Work For You (all MPs contact details and more) (Thanks, Jayel!)

See also: Brit MP calls for photographers' rights

[#1 posted by monitor , April 12, 2008 3:00 AM]

They Work for You lists every MP's details and lets you find your own using a postcode lookup:

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/

[#2 posted by yish , April 12, 2008 6:57 AM]

and http://www.writetothem.com/ has a simple interface for writing to them (made by the same good people of http://mysociety.org)

[#3 posted by Registrado , April 12, 2008 11:18 AM]

You use the toilet several times a day. What if something seems odd?

Terrorists may be tampering with food and drink. To be safe, every time you use the toilet (in a liquid or solid way), ask an experienced officer to inspect the result and decide what action to take.

[#4 posted by AwesomeRobot , April 12, 2008 1:30 PM]

ahem:: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2314/2312810016_f15312fc95_o.png

[#5 posted by Registrado , April 12, 2008 3:14 PM]

Wow, AwesomeRobot - great, erm, minds and all that... :)

[#6 posted by paulatz , April 12, 2008 5:48 PM]

I was in London for Easter holydays, I had already seen the fearmercial here, but I read it already on a free newspaper there.

On Easter day I was in a tube station in the city, me and my girlfirend were the only ones there, it felt so odd that I had to take a picture.

Just after shooting I realised that there was a tube worker staring at me, I sudently remembered the "odd photo" and felt a chill down my spine. It was spooky.

[#7 posted by CharlesSpongeworth , April 13, 2008 1:20 AM]

Has everyone seen this already? For what it's worth the bad guy is a PCSO, not a real policeman, but still it's a worrying sign of authority's slip into heavy handedness.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=RKl2sEN4yNM

[#8 posted by andygates , April 13, 2008 11:54 AM]

How about an awareness-raising photography comp? Get hundreds of people taking suspicious photos! Judge the best!

[#9 posted by Takuan , April 13, 2008 11:59 AM]

get four old disposable cameras, hot glue to a cap facing in four directions,apply to head, spend the day pausing in public places and slowly rotating for a moment

[#10 posted by Curly15 , April 14, 2008 3:17 AM]

I've posted on exactly the same subject in my blog today, after I too was detained in a police vehicle at Easter simply for taking photographs.

[#11 posted by Curly15 , April 19, 2008 5:19 AM]

Home Office Minister re-asserts photographers rights.