Dozens of journalists who cover the US Defence Department have vacated their offices in the Pentagon and returned their credentials as new restrictions on press access took effect.

The Defence Department had set a Tuesday deadline for news outlets to either sign a new Pentagon access policy or lose access to press credentials and Pentagon workspaces.

At least 30 news organisations, including Reuters, declined to sign the new policy, citing a threat to press freedoms and their ability to conduct independent news reporting on the world's most powerful military.

The policy requires journalists to acknowledge new rules on press access, including that they could be branded security risks and have their Pentagon press badges revoked if they ask department employees to disclose classified and

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