1988–94 British broadcasting voice restrictions

From October 1988 to September 1994 the voices of representatives from Sinn Féin and several Irish republican and loyalist groups were banned by the British government from being broadcast on television and radio in the United Kingdom. The restrictions, announced by the Home Secretary, Douglas Hurd, on 19 October 1988, covered eleven organisations based in Northern Ireland and followed a heightened period of violence in the history of the Troubles, as well as the government's belief in a need to prevent Sinn Féin from using the media for political advantage.