The Leveson Report
Cross-party talks on reforms to the press in the wake of the Leveson report have broken down, prime minister David Cameron has confirmed.
He has said that he will publish plans for a Royal Charter to govern the press and to establish a more robust press regulator on Monday where MPs can discuss the matter, and urged Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband to support the proposals. The Liberal Democrats and Labour, however, say that Cameron’s plans will give the newspapers too much discretion, and they should be kept on a tighter leash after the phone hacking scandal.
Campaign group Hacked Off have said that by allowing these talks to fall through, Cameron is protecting his friends in the press and betraying the victims of press abuse
The PM's statement on the Royal Charter shows that he's still protecting his friends in the press & betraying press abuse victims. #Leveson
— Hacked Off (@hackinginquiry) March 14, 2013
Speaking on his proposals, Cameron said
“The route I have set out is the fastest possible way to deliver the strong self-regulation body that Leveson proposed that can put in place million-pound fines, prominent apologises and get justice for victims in this country”
Cameron’s proposals will see the creation of an independent body to oversee the system of press regulation under a Royal Charter. The Leveson Report, however, called on the new independent watchdog to be underpinned with legislation to prevent future abuses and “outrageous” behaviour by the press such as shown in the phone hacking inquiry.
This failure to find a cross-party consensus on press reform comes in the wake of Labour peers trying to force through press reforms in the unrelated libel reform bill, and four journalists from The Mirror being arrested in the ongoing phone hacking inquiry.
