news Huws takes Eisteddfod crown for poetry


FORMER NUJ activist Martin Huws won the prestigious National Eisteddfod crown at the Welsh-language cultural festival in early August, David Nicholson writes. Huws said his ‘dream had come true’ after being awarded the prize as well as £750. Forty-one poets entered the competition this year and were tasked with writing a free-verse poem or collection of poems up to 250 lines on the theme of Adnabod, which means knowing or recognition.


The poems are submitted anonymously so the judges are not influenced by the reputation of the entrants. The judges said Huws’ work was: “A profoundly striking collection in terms of both its subject matter and the bold craftsmanship and creativity of its treatment. “It addresses one of the most challenging themes imaginable: a harrowing and timeless subject, namely abuse and violation.” Huws spent much of his career in journalism, working for Welsh language news


service Golwg, the Western Mail and ITV Wales, before being appointed and spending many years as a senior journalist on BBC


Cymru’s website, Cymru Fyw. He was chair of his NUJ branch and served as Wales-wide lay health and safety officer.


Huws is originally from


Cardiff, and has lived in Taff’s Well, Rhondda Cynon Taf for more than 30 years. He has been retired for 10 years. He has published two


novels, two collections of short stories, a volume of poetry and a booklet on the history of Cardiff. At the 2007 National Eisteddfod in Flintshire, his novel Mae Heddwch yn Brifo came second in the Daniel Owen Memorial Prize competition. The National Eisteddfod has been held for 850 years.


Home Office criticised over poor photo advice


THE NUJ is calling on the Home Office to rectify information it has published and shared with asylum seekers on restrictions around photographing and filming people in public places.


A leaflet posted on the government website in August makes a misleading, blanket claim that people in


Steve Bell


the UK “could be arrested by the police” if they “take pictures or videos of someone without their permission... including in public spaces, like streets or parks”.


The union says that these statements misrepresent the law and risk misleading people on their rights and obligations. Taking photos


or videos of people in public without their permission is not inherently unlawful. There are certain contexts in which photography and videos taken and shared without a person’s permission are legally prohibited – for example, voyeurism and upskirting or causing harassment and distress as


per the Protection from Harassment Act. There is also a right to redress if a photo or video is taken or published of someone without permission in a private setting or where they have reasonable expectation of privacy. These legal restrictions should be communicated with accuracy and nuance,


which the union believes are not present in the Home Office’s leaflet.


NUJ members in visual journalism are already experiencing increased obstruction, hostility and routinely deal with people questioning their right to photograph in public. This can involve instances of verbal and physical abuse.


04 | theJournalist


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