Royal Charter on Press Conduct

Sarah Wollaston Excerpts

Monday 18th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Simon Hughes]

That is a very good summary. We want the best and freest press in the world, but we do not want a press that is marred and tarred by being seen to cosy up to the Government of the day, and compromised, and parties compromised. We do not want a press that does dubious deals with the police behind closed doors, not in the interests of members of the public. We want people to be able to be supported by the press, not trashed by the press. My hon. Friend is quite right.

[Dr Sarah Wollaston (Totnes) (Con)]

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

[Simon Hughes]

No, please, many others want to speak.

For 20 or 30 years, colleagues of mine in both Houses have said that we needed an inquiry such as this—Lord McNally, Matthew Taylor and many others—and we have now had one. Whenever people ask me what I stand for, I do not invent my own words; I look at the little card that my party issues, which quotes from the preamble to our constitution. I hope that we have all done what one sentence of that preamble says, and that we have all today taken action

“to build and safeguard a free, fair and open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community”.

Today is about getting the balance right. I think that we have corrected the balance and it is a tribute to all who got us here.

--- Later in debate ---

[Chris Bryant (Rhondda) (Lab)]

I refer hon. and right hon. Members to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.

This morning was quite exciting. Last week’s papal conclave lasted only two days, but a conclave that had lasted five days, or even 10 weeks, brought forth white smoke this morning. I hope that I do not have to say this too often, but I commend the Prime Minister. We now agree on two issues—press regulation and same-sex marriage. It is getting to be a habit, so let us hope that he joins us on the bedroom tax and a few other things.

[Dr Wollaston]

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that it was more white flag than white smoke? I agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Broxbourne (Mr Walker) that this is a sad day. This is more than just a toenail in the door of regulation of the press and we may live to regret it.

[Chris Bryant]

I am afraid that I am going to take the Prime Minister’s side on this. I think that the proposal is well crafted, necessary and sufficient and that more might have been harmful in the way suggested by the hon. Lady. Incidentally, I am not particularly in favour of Popes, so the white smoke analogy is almost irrelevant.

I also commend the leader and deputy leader of my own party, because they have driven resolutely towards a sane and sensible conclusion, which is what we are discussing today.

--- Later in debate ---

[Dr Sarah Wollaston (Totnes) (Con)]

We have to read up to schedule 4 of the charter before it sets out to whom it applies. It states that a

“‘relevant publisher’ means a person…who publishes in the United Kingdom…a newspaper or magazine…or…a website containing news-related material”.

That is why it is so unrealistic, because websites can be set up anywhere in the world. My hon. Friend the Member for South Swindon (Mr Buckland) said that the code was voluntary, but if the stick being carried is sufficiently big, the code becomes coercive.

What will happen when our press become more bland and we see the people who read newspapers deserting them for the internet? Will the code apply to Twitter? There is a risk that we will abandon the printed press for the online news media, and what will happen then to our particularly vulnerable regional and local press? Who will be there to report from the courts? What will happen if our national press go into further decline and can no longer afford to fund world-class investigative journalism?

There has rightly been much talk today about the victims of the press, but we forget at our peril the victims of big pharma, of big corporations and of big state. I would far rather have our two-fingers-to-the-establishment, slightly out of control press than a nervous press, a bankrupt press or a bland press. Although we can all be commentators through the internet, we cannot all be investigative journalists. We owe a huge debt to investigative journalism and we should be very mindful of any threat to it. I hope that when he responds to the debate, the Prime Minister will feel at least that a free press deserves a free vote.