That this House welcomes the decisive vote of the House of Lords to introduce a low-cost arbitration system for victims of press defamation; notes that newspapers which do not join the system will face higher damages; further notes the comments from Lords Fowler and Puttnam that the Government and Opposition are stalling on reforms and that the measures proposed in the present bill are framed as if the Leveson inquiry had never happened; commends the peers' amendments; and urges the Governmen...
That this House believes that the question as to who makes the decision as to what is appropriate to print is more important than the question as to whether or not there is a statutory framework; furtherbelieves that it would be dangerous if regulation produced a press that was deferential to powerful people; recognises that freedom of speech means that at times things will be printed that some people may see as unfair; and calls for the Government to take this into account when responding to...
That this House notes with concern the recent controversy over allegations of serious criminal offences committed by Jimmy Savile and the subsequent questions that have been raised over the culture, practices and ethics of the BBC; further notes the calls for an independent inquiry; agrees that the BBC should not dictate the terms of an inquiry into itself; further notes that the Leveson Inquiry is not yet concluded and that Lord Justice Leveson himself said that he would look into anything t...
That this House commends the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) for its work in improving media standards and championing quality journalism; notes that the NUJ is a core participant at the Leveson Inquiry; believes that this is fitting as the NUJ represents thousands of journalists throughout the press including national and local newspapers; supports the NUJ's campaign for a Conscience Clause for journalists, which will protect them in their workplaces if they are asked to carry out work t...
That this House notes that for over 12 months hon. Members have expressed concerns about the possible influence of the Murdochs over the Government's BBC licence fee settlement in November 2010 given the speech by James Murdoch in 2009 urging cuts to the licence fee and to the BBC; further notes that from their evidence to the Leveson Inquiry it is now known that James Murdoch met the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport both before and after the 2010General Election to d...
That this House recognises that efforts by the press to identify a trans man and his child at the heart of a recent storygo well beyond any potential public interest; condemns the press's chosen method of a hotline for identifying the person in question; further condemns the press for placing the child and family involved at such high risk of abuse and severe disruption to their lives; is concerned about other trans people and their families who have no connection to this case and yet are fac...
That this House insists that the terms of reference of the Leveson Inquiry must be extended to the whole media, including sound, visual and social media, and to include blagging and other unethical or illegal practices and should not be confined to phone hacking.