Leveson Inquiry

Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury Excerpts

Wednesday 25th April 2012 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Garden of Frognal]

The noble Lord is quite right that Leveson has a very broad remit. However, it is a vehicle for all manner of evidence to be brought into the open and fully discussed. It appears to be doing an extremely thorough job on that basis. The Secretary of State is very well aware that he needs to answer to Parliament, which is one reason why he gave the Statement today followed by a full set of answers to questions. That will continue to be the position. We are not simply pushing these questions to the back of Leveson, but once you have set up an inquiry of this nature, you might also ask—and indeed Lord Justice Leveson has also asked, having set up the inquiry—that it be allowed to proceed.

[Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury]

I thank my noble friend for repeating the Statement. As so often, I find myself echoing my noble friend Lord Fowler. Does the Minister agree that this affair demonstrates that there should be safeguards to ensure that no one organisation should be in a position to own a disproportionate share of the British media—which, by the way, is possible thanks only to the Communications Act 2003 and despite prescient warnings by my noble friend Lord McNally and the noble Lord, Lord Puttnam—and finally, as my noble friend said, that decisions on media mergers should not be taken by politicians but openly and transparently by an appropriate and independent regulatory body?

[Baroness Garden of Frognal]

I entirely agree with my noble friend. As I mentioned in my reply to my noble friend Lord Fowler, these measures are under way. We are not intending to delay taking this forward. We recognise that in the past the Murdoch empire was an enormously powerful factor for both the Labour Party and the Conservative Party. The coalition Government have now set up a thorough inquiry into those matters, which we hope will come up with some really good answers.