Rebecca Sentance

Rebecca Sentance

Deputy Editor at ClickZ and Search Engine Watch

openDemocracy •

UK's Official Secrets Acts overhaul provides little protection for whistleblowers

The UK's independent body The Law Commission has proposed a major overhaul to the UK’s Official Secrets Acts, in what will be the first comprehensive update of the Acts in more than 100 years. The intent of the reforms is to modernise the Official Secrets Acts to protect against twenty-first century threats such as hacking and mass data leaks. But in the process, the reforms threaten to increase the punishment levied against those who leak official secrets whilst providing no protection for
openDemocracy •

Why whistleblowers are essential to democracy

In a functioning democracy, it is absolutely crucial for power to be held to account. For this we need whistleblowers. On January 17, 2017, whistleblower Chelsea Manning's 35-year prison sentence was commuted to seven years from her date of arrest, in one of President Obama's last acts before leaving office. At the time of her commutation, Private Manning had spent more time behind bars than any other person in US history who had disclosed information considered to be in the public interest.
Share Radio •

The World This Week: Michael Hewson on the EU delay in granting market economy status to China

The Chinese markets are still front and centre in economic news, and this week brought the revelation that the European Commission has again postponed the decision on whether to grant market economy status to China. I spoke to Michael Hewson, Chief Market Analyst at CMC Markets, about what market economy status would mean for China and why the EU has been so reluctant to make this decision. The interview was broadcast on Share Radio's 'The World This Week' show, presented by Rita Lobo, which loo
London Student •

LS15: 70% of young people 'absolutely certain to vote' on 7 May

New YouGov polling figures show that 70 per cent of young people aged 18-24 are ‘absolutely certain to vote’ in Thursday’s election. The survey (pdf), which was conducted from the 3rd-4th May, asked respondents to rate how likely they were to vote on the 7th on a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 being ‘certain NOT to vote’ and 10 being ‘absolutely certain to vote’. Its figures show a marked increase in participation from the youngest age group compared to this time last election. An equivalent surv
Hackney Post •

6 best LGBT hotspots in Hackney

Has there ever been a better time to be queer in Hackney? This might seem like an odd question to ask with two LGBT favourites in the area, The Joiners’ Arms on Hackney Road and The Nelson’s Head on Horatio Street, both closing their doors in the past few months. But in many ways Hackney’s queer scene has never been healthier. QX Magazine names Shoreditch as one of London’s “three gay villages“, while That Gay Backpacker calls Hackney his “very favourite London gaybourhood“. From Dalston to Hag
Hackney Post •

Matilda's memoir educates about cancer

A woman who underwent treatment for bowel cancer whilst pregnant has turned her experience into an opportunity to educate and enlighten others – with a graphic novel. Matilda Tristram, 32, who was a resident of Hackney Road, Haggerston at the time of her diagnosis, was faced with the heart-rending choice of having an abortion, delaying treatment, or risking the chemotherapy that could harm her baby in unknown ways. Choosing to undergo chemotherapy, she memorialised her experience in the form o
Essex Enquirer •

Dad donates books to schools

A FATHER has turned a personal project to create a picture book for his daughter into a nationwide campaign to promote and encourage children'€™s literacy. Dennis Thompson, who lives in Southend-on-Sea, is using the crowdfunding website Kickstarter to fund a print run of a thousand copies of his picture book, ‘The Tale of the Greedy Fish’, to be donated free to schools and libraries across the UK. The story, told entirely in rhyme, is a simple moral tale of a perpetually hungry fish na
Thurrock Enquirer •

A dressing day to remember

A SMALL crowd gathered outside St Mary’s Church in North Stifford on Saturday for the inauguration of the village’s first ever well dressing. A well dressing is composed of natural materials set in clay to form a picture, after an ancient English tradition of giving thanks for clean water, and North Stifford’s is quite likely the first to be seen in Essex. It was worked on by more than 50 people of all ages over a period of three days, following a beautiful design by artist Clive Attwood