Spain's Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska has defended a police dossier that catalogued the political leanings of hundreds of journalists and commentators, insisting it was not compiled for any improper purpose, according to Cadena SER.
The minister's remarks come as the Spanish Data Protection Agency has opened an official investigation into the Interior Ministry over the document, which reportedly contains profiles of 280 journalists and pundits classified by ideology, as reported by El Mundo.
The full dossier, reported by El Confidencial, runs to 54 pages and includes individual files on media figures. The existence of the document has triggered a political backlash, with the government now acknowledging the report was a mistake, according to La Vanguardia.
Interior has since apologised and downgraded the document to a "consultative" report, as reported by infoLibre. The ministry has sought to frame the material as internal analysis rather than surveillance or an attempt to pressure the press.
Marlaska's defence, delivered on Tuesday, appears aimed at containing the fallout. He told Cadena SER that the list had no hidden agenda, but he did not provide a detailed explanation of why the ministry compiled ideological profiles of working journalists.
The data protection regulator's decision to investigate of its own accord signals that the affair is unlikely to close with the ministry's apology. The watchdog will examine whether the collection of such personal data about journalists breached Spanish privacy law.
What to watch next: whether the Data Protection Agency's probe finds grounds for sanctions, and if the political pressure forces further ministerial accountability.
