Search of journalist's phone by Senate attendant called 'unconscionable'

Federal parliamentary press gallery demands explanation after Buzzfeed journalist's phone was seized and searched during Senate question time

The federal parliamentary press gallery has said the search and seizure of a journalist's phone in Senate question time was an "unconscionable and unacceptable transgression of press freedom".

The press gallery president, Fairfax photographer Andrew Meares, has written to the president of the Senate, Stephen Parry, asking him to investigate the encounter, in which the phone of a BuzzFeed journalist, Alice Workman, was searched after she tweeted about Labor senator Stephen Conroy playing Candy Crush in the chamber.