UK ranks below Jamaica, Latvia and Ghana for press freedom, global study finds

The UK remains one of the worst counties in western Europe for freedom of the press, according to the latest report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Ranked 33rd in the list of 180 countries, Britain was placed behind Jamaica, Surinam, Ghana, Namibia, South Africa, Latvia and Lichtenstein in the advocacy group’s 2019 World Press Freedom Index.

Foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt appointed Amal Clooney as special envoy on media freedom earlier this month as part of a global campaign on reporting restrictions. Yet the UK is ranked lower than any of its western European neighbours except Italy.

We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view. From 15p €0.18 $0.18 USD 0.27 a day, more exclusives, analysis and extras.

“We should hold ourselves to a higher standard, and seek to be one of the best, not worst-performing countries in western Europe,” said RSF’s UK director Rebecca Vincent. “Too often steps taken in the name of national security trample press freedom.”

The US slipped three places to 48th in the world as a result of its increasingly hostile climate towards journalists. The report said that never before have US reporters been subjected to so many death threats or turned so often to private security for protection.

Shape Created with Sketch. Winners of the World Press Photo 2019 awards Show all 25 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. Winners of the World Press Photo 2019 awards 1/25 World Press Photo of the Year 2019: Crying girl on the border Honduran toddler Yanela Sanchez cries as she and her mother, Sandra Sanchez, are taken into custody by US border officials in McAllen, Texas, USA, on 12 June John Moore / Getty 2/25 General News Photo of the year: The disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi An unidentified man tries to hold back the press on 15 October, as Saudi investigators arrive at the Saudi Arabian Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, amid a growing international backlash to the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi Chris McGrath / Getty 3/25 Nature Photo of the Year: Survival instinct Frogs with their legs severed and surrounded by frogspawn struggle to the surface, after being thrown back into the water in Covasna, Eastern Carpathians, Romania, in April 2018 Bence Máté 4/25 Sports Photo of the Year: Boxing in Katanga Boxer Morin Ajambo (30) trains in Katanga, a large slum settlement in Kampala, Uganda, on 24 March John T. Pedersen 5/25 Contemporary Issues Photo of the Year: The Cubanitas Pura rides around her neighborhood in a pink 1950s convertible, as the community gathers to celebrate her fifteenth birthday, in Havana, Cuba Diana Markosian 6/25 Environment photo of the Year: Akashinga - the brave ones Petronella Chigumbura (30), a member of an all-female anti-poaching unit called Akashinga, participates in stealth and concealment training in the Phundundu Wildlife Park, Zimbabwe Brent Stirton / Getty 7/25 Portrait Photo of the Year: Dakar fashion Diarra Ndiaye, Ndeye Fatou Mbaye and Mariz Sakho model outfits by designer Adama Paris, in the Medina neighborhood of the Senegalese capital, Dakar, as curious residents look on Finbarr O'Reilly 8/25 General News Story of the Year: Yemen Crisis A woman begs outside a grocery store in Azzan, a pivotal southern crossroads town that had seesawed back and forth between government and insurgent forces in Yemen, on 22 May 2018. Photo by Lorenzo Tugnoli/ The Wa 9/25 Spot news Story of the Year: Ambulance Bomb Rahela, her face bloodied by shattered glass from the shop where she had been with her sister (right), is helped from the scene of a street bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan, before being taken to hospital Andrew Quilty 10/25 Contemporary Issues Story of the Year: Ireland's Struggle to Overturn Anti-Abortion Laws Abortion law reform campaigner Megan Scott, dressed as St Brigid, Ireland’s female patron, poses for a photograph on Dublin’s main shopping street, on 21 April. Olivia Harris 11/25 World Press Story of the Year: The Migrant Caravan People run to a truck that has stopped to give them a ride, outside Tapanatepec, Mexico, on 30 October 2018. Some drivers charged to give travelers a lift for part of the way, but most offered services free as a sign of support. Pieter Ten Hoopen 12/25 World Press Story of the Year: The Migrant Caravan Families bathe, wash clothes and relax beside the Rio Novillero, when the caravan takes a rest day near Tapanatepec. Pieter Ten Hoopen 13/25 Environment runner-up: Living among what's left behind A child who collects recyclable material lies on a mattress surrounded by garbage floating on the Pasig River, in Manila, Philippines Mário Cruz 14/25 General News runner-up: Still life volcano The living-room of an abandoned home in San Miguel Los Lotes, Guatemala, lies covered in ash after the eruption of Volcán de Fuego on 3 June 2018 Daniele Volpe 15/25 World Press Photo runner-up: Being Pregnant After FARC Child-Bearing Ban Yorladis is pregnant for the sixth time, after five other pregnancies were terminated during her FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) years. She says she managed to hide the fifth pregnancy from her commander until the sixth month by wearing loose clothes Catalina Martin-Chico 16/25 Nature runner-up: Glass butterfly A winged comb jelly, Leucothea multicornis, its wings widely opened, propels itself through waters off Alicante, Spain Angel Fitor 17/25 Nature runner-up: Flamingo socks A Caribbean flamingo inspects the improvised socks created to help heal its severe foot lesions, at the Fundashon Dier en Onderwijs Cariben, Curaçao Jasper Doest 18/25 General News runner-up: Unilateral US President Donald Trump leads France’s President Emmanuel Macron by the hand while walking to the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington DC, on 24 April 2018 Brendan Smialowski / AFP 19/25 Environment runner-up: Evacuated Evacuated horses stand tied to a pole, as smoke from a wildfire billows above them, on Zuma Beach, in Malibu, California, USA, on 10 November Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times 20/25 Spot news photo runner-up: Climbing the border fence Central American migrants climb the border fence between Mexico and the United States, near El Chaparral border crossing, Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, on 25 November 2018 Pedro Pardo / AFP 21/25 Spot news photo runner-up: The death of Michael Nadayo The body of Michael Nadayao lies in the street after he was shot dead by unidentified men in front of mourners at a wake, in Quezon City, Philippines, on 31 August 2018 Ezra Acayan 22/25 Sports runner-up: Shields strike back Olympic champion Claressa Shields (right) meets Hanna Gabriels in a boxing match at the Masonic Temple in Detroit, Michigan, USA, on 22 June Terrell Groggins 23/25 Sports runner-up: Sunlight serve Naomi Osaka serves during her match against Simona Halep from Romania during the Australian Open tennis tournament, at Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne, Australia, on 22 January David Gray / Reuters 24/25 Portrait runner-up: When I was ill Alyona Kochetkova sits at home, unable to face borscht (beet soup), her favorite food, during treatment for cancer Alyona Kochetkova 25/25 Portrait runner-up: Black birds Jochen (71) and Mohamed (21; not his real name) sit in the Tiergarten, Berlin. Jochen fell in love after meeting Mohamed, then a sex worker in the park. They have been dating for 19 months Heba Khamis 1/25 World Press Photo of the Year 2019: Crying girl on the border Honduran toddler Yanela Sanchez cries as she and her mother, Sandra Sanchez, are taken into custody by US border officials in McAllen, Texas, USA, on 12 June John Moore / Getty 2/25 General News Photo of the year: The disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi An unidentified man tries to hold back the press on 15 October, as Saudi investigators arrive at the Saudi Arabian Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, amid a growing international backlash to the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi Chris McGrath / Getty 3/25 Nature Photo of the Year: Survival instinct Frogs with their legs severed and surrounded by frogspawn struggle to the surface, after being thrown back into the water in Covasna, Eastern Carpathians, Romania, in April 2018 Bence Máté 4/25 Sports Photo of the Year: Boxing in Katanga Boxer Morin Ajambo (30) trains in Katanga, a large slum settlement in Kampala, Uganda, on 24 March John T. Pedersen 5/25 Contemporary Issues Photo of the Year: The Cubanitas Pura rides around her neighborhood in a pink 1950s convertible, as the community gathers to celebrate her fifteenth birthday, in Havana, Cuba Diana Markosian 6/25 Environment photo of the Year: Akashinga - the brave ones Petronella Chigumbura (30), a member of an all-female anti-poaching unit called Akashinga, participates in stealth and concealment training in the Phundundu Wildlife Park, Zimbabwe Brent Stirton / Getty 7/25 Portrait Photo of the Year: Dakar fashion Diarra Ndiaye, Ndeye Fatou Mbaye and Mariz Sakho model outfits by designer Adama Paris, in the Medina neighborhood of the Senegalese capital, Dakar, as curious residents look on Finbarr O'Reilly 8/25 General News Story of the Year: Yemen Crisis A woman begs outside a grocery store in Azzan, a pivotal southern crossroads town that had seesawed back and forth between government and insurgent forces in Yemen, on 22 May 2018. Photo by Lorenzo Tugnoli/ The Wa 9/25 Spot news Story of the Year: Ambulance Bomb Rahela, her face bloodied by shattered glass from the shop where she had been with her sister (right), is helped from the scene of a street bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan, before being taken to hospital Andrew Quilty 10/25 Contemporary Issues Story of the Year: Ireland's Struggle to Overturn Anti-Abortion Laws Abortion law reform campaigner Megan Scott, dressed as St Brigid, Ireland’s female patron, poses for a photograph on Dublin’s main shopping street, on 21 April. Olivia Harris 11/25 World Press Story of the Year: The Migrant Caravan People run to a truck that has stopped to give them a ride, outside Tapanatepec, Mexico, on 30 October 2018. Some drivers charged to give travelers a lift for part of the way, but most offered services free as a sign of support. Pieter Ten Hoopen 12/25 World Press Story of the Year: The Migrant Caravan Families bathe, wash clothes and relax beside the Rio Novillero, when the caravan takes a rest day near Tapanatepec. Pieter Ten Hoopen 13/25 Environment runner-up: Living among what's left behind A child who collects recyclable material lies on a mattress surrounded by garbage floating on the Pasig River, in Manila, Philippines Mário Cruz 14/25 General News runner-up: Still life volcano The living-room of an abandoned home in San Miguel Los Lotes, Guatemala, lies covered in ash after the eruption of Volcán de Fuego on 3 June 2018 Daniele Volpe 15/25 World Press Photo runner-up: Being Pregnant After FARC Child-Bearing Ban Yorladis is pregnant for the sixth time, after five other pregnancies were terminated during her FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) years. She says she managed to hide the fifth pregnancy from her commander until the sixth month by wearing loose clothes Catalina Martin-Chico 16/25 Nature runner-up: Glass butterfly A winged comb jelly, Leucothea multicornis, its wings widely opened, propels itself through waters off Alicante, Spain Angel Fitor 17/25 Nature runner-up: Flamingo socks A Caribbean flamingo inspects the improvised socks created to help heal its severe foot lesions, at the Fundashon Dier en Onderwijs Cariben, Curaçao Jasper Doest 18/25 General News runner-up: Unilateral US President Donald Trump leads France’s President Emmanuel Macron by the hand while walking to the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington DC, on 24 April 2018 Brendan Smialowski / AFP 19/25 Environment runner-up: Evacuated Evacuated horses stand tied to a pole, as smoke from a wildfire billows above them, on Zuma Beach, in Malibu, California, USA, on 10 November Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times 20/25 Spot news photo runner-up: Climbing the border fence Central American migrants climb the border fence between Mexico and the United States, near El Chaparral border crossing, Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, on 25 November 2018 Pedro Pardo / AFP 21/25 Spot news photo runner-up: The death of Michael Nadayo The body of Michael Nadayao lies in the street after he was shot dead by unidentified men in front of mourners at a wake, in Quezon City, Philippines, on 31 August 2018 Ezra Acayan 22/25 Sports runner-up: Shields strike back Olympic champion Claressa Shields (right) meets Hanna Gabriels in a boxing match at the Masonic Temple in Detroit, Michigan, USA, on 22 June Terrell Groggins 23/25 Sports runner-up: Sunlight serve Naomi Osaka serves during her match against Simona Halep from Romania during the Australian Open tennis tournament, at Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne, Australia, on 22 January David Gray / Reuters 24/25 Portrait runner-up: When I was ill Alyona Kochetkova sits at home, unable to face borscht (beet soup), her favorite food, during treatment for cancer Alyona Kochetkova 25/25 Portrait runner-up: Black birds Jochen (71) and Mohamed (21; not his real name) sit in the Tiergarten, Berlin. Jochen fell in love after meeting Mohamed, then a sex worker in the park. They have been dating for 19 months Heba Khamis

The latest annual report offered a bleak assessment of reporting freedoms around the world, with experts finding a decline in the number of countries regarded as safe for journalists.

Only 24 per cent of the 180 countries were classified as “good” or “fairly good” for the press – a two per cent decline – while over three-quarters of the world is now considered “problematic”, “difficult” or “very serious” for media freedoms.

RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire said: “Democracy is in great danger. Halting this cycle of fear and intimidation is a matter of the utmost urgency of all people.”

He added: “If the political debate slides surreptitiously or openly towards a civil war-style atmosphere, in which journalists are treated as scapegoats, then democracy is in great danger.”

Norway is ranked first for press freedoms for the third consecutive year and Turkmenistan replaced North Korea in last place.

The study’s authors said the level of violence used in some parts of the world to persecute journalists who aggravate authorities “no longer seems to know any limits”. They said the Saudi columnist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul last October sent a “chilling message”.

The Americas saw the greatest deterioration of any part of the world during the last year. Nicaragua fell 24 places from the previous year’s list due to attacks on journalists covering protests against President Daniel Ortega.

El Salvador saw the region’s second steepest fall – 15 places – because journalists suffered armed attacks, harassment and intimidation by politicians, according to the report.

There were also poor performances in Venezuela, Brazil and Mexico. The latter is one of the world’s deadliest countries for the media, with at least 10 journalists killed in 2018.

The EU and Balkans registered the second biggest deterioration in press freedoms, but it remains the region where press freedom is respected most and which is the safest for journalists.

According to a separate report recently published by RSF, 80 journalists were killed around the world in 2018, up from 65 in 2017.

The group’s annual index assesses six separate benchmarks and assigns each country a score calculated from answers to a questionnaire in 20 languages that is completed by international experts.

Earlier this year a report by the Freedom House think tank found an “alarming” decline in democracy across the world, as a growing number of countries move towards authoritarian rule.

Its report found 2018 was the 13th consecutive year of deteriorating political freedoms around the globe.