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The official secrets act only covers those that sign it.

What the act does is give one access to classified material and places so it is highly unlikely that any member of the press would be security cleared to sign it unless they had already worked in an area which required them to sign it.

We would be more likely to prosecute a reporter though for printing classified information though I have to say things are appearing in the press that many years ago would not have.

My father worked for the post office and he had to sign it which meant that even if had wished to he was not allowed to visit any eastern european countries whilst they were under communist control.

Regarding location of politians houses this has never been an issue in Britain most people who have an interest in politics know where the MPs or ministers live and their homes are often shown on TV. I understand that security is much tighter in the US and therefore the NYT should respect this.