Telephone Hacking Debate

Full Debate: Read Full Debate

Lord Pannick

Main Page: Lord Pannick (Crossbench - Life peer)
Tuesday 1st March 2011

(13 years, 8 months ago)

Lords Chamber
Read Full debate Read Hansard Text
Lord Wallace of Saltaire Portrait Lord Wallace of Saltaire
- Hansard - - - Excerpts

My Lords, I must remind the noble Lord that the murky relationship between government and the media and between the police and the media is not a new issue that has arisen with this new Government; it has been with us for some years. We all need to look at this. A large number of inquiries and a number of civil actions are under way with regard to the responsibility of the press. This issue will not go away.

Lord Pannick Portrait Lord Pannick
- Hansard - -

My Lords, does not this whole episode demonstrate the need to replace the PCC with a statutory body with effective powers of enforcement against the press?

Lord Wallace of Saltaire Portrait Lord Wallace of Saltaire
- Hansard - - - Excerpts

My Lords, this morning I read the report issued in February of last year by the Culture, Media and Sport Committee of another place on exactly this point, in which it makes a number of criticisms of the current situation. However, as I understood the report, it did not go so far as to propose a statutory replacement.