Phone Hacking and the Media

Pete Wishart Excerpts

Monday 11th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

Yes.

[Pete Wishart (Perth and North Perthshire) (SNP)]

On behalf of the Scottish National party, we welcome the public inquiries and the referral back to the Competition Commission. Does the Secretary of State agree that there has been a systematic failure of successive Westminster Governments when it has come to the whole field of the regulation of the press? As long ago as 2006, the Information Commissioner found more than 3,000 breaches of data protection, but nothing was done. How can we have any faith that this House will in future get its press regulation fixed?

[Mr Hunt]

It is stretching it a bit to say that this is a Westminster issue and not something that affects the whole of the United Kingdom. We have to sort it out, and we are absolutely determined to do so.