Published 01 March 2013 | Standard notes SN06535
Authors:
Philip Ward
Topic:
Media, Press
Lord Justice Leveson published his long-awaited report into the “culture, practices and ethics of the press” on 29 November 2012. The Prime Minister has indicated that, while he accepts the bulk of the report’s recommendations, he does not accept the need for statutory underpinning of a press regulator. The Labour Party and Liberal Democrats have called for legislative reform, and the parties are currently engaged in cross-party discussions on the issue. Meanwhile, the newspaper industry is working on proposals of its own which respond to Leveson’s recommendations but fall short of the need for statutory “underpinning”.
On 12 February 2013 the Conservatives published proposals for a draft Royal Charter, which would establish a “recognition panel” to determine whether a self-regulator was effective. Also published were draft clauses that would impose the risk of exemplary damages on any newspaper declining to subscribe to the new regulator. The previous week, during passage of the Defamation Bill, the Lords passed Opposition amendments designed to implement Leveson’s proposals on arbitration; the amended Bill will now return to the Commons.
This note provides pointers to the developments since publication of the report. It does not attempt to summarise the complex arguments involved or differences between the various proposals for draft legislation that have been brought forward.
See also
• Commons Library Standard Note 6357, Press regulation: the debate, 20 June 2012 [background and developments up to summer 2012]
• Lords Library Note LLN 2012/041, Leveson Report: reaction, 30 November 2012 [immediate responses following publication from politicians, media commentators and interested parties]