Press regulation
The party has made it clear that Keir Starmer had no intention of reopening the second phase of the Leveson inquiry
Sat Dec 16, 2023 7:20pm GMT
The Labor Party has backed away from plans to impose new controls on the press, in a move likely to spark fierce controversy within the party following Prince Harry's landmark victory in his phone hacking case against the Daily Mirror.
Party sources made clear on Saturday that Keir Starmer had no intention of reopening a second phase of the Leveson inquiry into press standards – abandoned by the Tories in 2018 – nor would Labor oppose the Conservatives' current plans to improve the press regulation regime in the media law now go through parliament to weaken it.
On Thursday Judge Fancourt ruled that Mirror Group Newspapers was guilty of “extensive” phone hacking and unlawful information gathering against Harry.
The Duke of Sussex said it was a “great day for truth” and vowed to continue his fight for justice.
The ruling sparked renewed calls for a more robust system to protect people from unwanted intrusions. Labor supporters demanded clarity about Starmer's stance and policies if his party came to power.
However, despite pressure from press reform campaigners and Labor activists on Saturday night, Starmer appeared unwilling to risk upsetting major media companies, including the Mirror Group and Rupert Murdoch's News UK, in the run-up to a general election.
Starmer has made major efforts in recent months to bring right-wing media owners to justice, including Murdoch, with whom he is known to be in regular contact.
The fears in the Labor leader's inner circle are likely to be that elements of the media would unleash a violent pre-election campaign against Starmer and his party, similar to the campaign against Neil Kinnock in 1992, when he suggested he would rein in their activities the assumption of office.
Labor has been in favor of reviving the Leveson process under previous leaders. In May 2018, then party leader Ed Miliband told Tory ministers that their decision to abandon the second phase of the inquiry was “despicable” and that it was a “matter of honor about the promises we made to victims of phone hacking.” have”.
However, on Saturday evening, Labor officials pointed out that there was no indication of a reopening of the inquiry in recent reports from the party's national policy forum, suggesting that all plans had been scrapped.
Earlier this year it was suggested that Labor wanted to retain a law that would have put pressure on media companies to sign up to a legal regime or face high legal costs in any case in which they became involved.
But earlier this month Shadow Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Stephanie Peacock signaled in the House of Commons that Labor would no longer oppose the Tory plan to repeal the law. Peacock told MPs that most press organizations had now introduced some form of regulation, “whether individually or through the Independent Press Standards Organisation”, which, she added, “was not foreseen when the law was drafted.” was”.
She made it clear that Labor would not seek to oppose the Tory move and therefore suggested that her party was no more on the side of regulation than the Conservative government.
On Saturday evening, comedian and actor Steve Coogan, himself a victim of press interference, suggested it was time for Labor to step up: “We need to give up the Tories, who are 100% owned by the Rothermeres, Barclays and Murdochs, But it is clearly untenable, if the rule of law in this country matters at all, that a new Prime Minister, rightly proud of being a former chief prosecutor, is failing to reopen the second half of the Leveson Inquiry to correct the falsehoods The proof of this was provided in the first part. Keir Starmer, are you listening?”
Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair's former press chief, also called on Labor to make press standards a central issue in its election campaign.
He said: “The whole of politics has been badly damaged in recent years and I hope Labor will put restoring political and media standards at the heart of its campaign and government if it wins.”
“The worst elements of the press contributed to the damage done and, contrary to their claims, the culture has not fundamentally changed since Leveson.
“Without Section 40, there is no protection for the public from interference and inaccuracies. Section 40 not only provided an incentive to join a recognized regulator, but also acted as a guarantee of access to justice. The claim that it threatens press freedom is just another press lie.
“The Tories have the majority and can therefore repeal Section 40, but it needs to be replaced with something and that should be guided by the principles of accuracy, fairness and appropriate incentives of being part of a post-Leveson regulator.”
“The Tories will never do it because they have never taken reform seriously. Labor should do it because it is the right thing to do and they will find widespread support for a campaign aimed at repairing the enormous damage that has been done to our political and media culture.”
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