Bill Wiggin
Main Page: Bill Wiggin (Conservative - North Herefordshire)(11 years, 3 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
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Maria Miller
If the hon. Gentleman will allow me to answer his question about the amendability of a charter, he will see in the royal charter that there are clear provisions that it should not be tampered with. If he feels that his party might tamper with the charter in that way, perhaps the right hon. and learned Member for Camberwell and Peckham (Ms Harman) should underline that that would not happen. Finally, the hon. Gentleman can give no guarantee that a press Bill would not be changed. Ultimately, the parliamentary process leaves any Bill that comes before the House subject to amendment. We believe that a charter approach gives us something that is a far clearer way of providing the freedom of speech that we want for the press in future.
Bill Wiggin (North Herefordshire) (Con)
Every time the press make up a story they effectively deceive my constituents who buy their newspapers. When can my constituents expect to have proper protection from deception in their newspapers?
Maria Miller
My hon. Friend will know that the editors’ code already sets out clear provisions to achieve that. The new approach that Lord Justice Leveson has proposed would underline the importance of the culture of the press. We are working swiftly to make sure that that is put in place, and by implementing a royal charter to put in place a verification body we can do that an awful lot more swiftly than through a Bill that would go through Parliament.