Leveson report into UK press ethics recommends tougher self-regulatory body backed by legislation

[smurfy]

[url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20543936[/url]

[quote=BBC News][B]A tougher form of self-regulation backed by legislation should be introduced to uphold press standards, the Leveson report has recommended.[/B]

Lord Justice Leveson said the press had "wreaked havoc in the lives of innocent people" for many decades.

He said the proposals in his report will protect the rights of victims and people bringing complaints.

Prime Minister David Cameron said he had "serious concerns and misgivings" over the idea of statutory regulation.

Speaking in the Commons he said he broadly welcomed Lord Justice Leveson's principles to change the current system.

But he said: "We should be wary of any legislation that has the potential to infringe free speech and the free press.

"In this House, which has been a bulwark of democracy for centuries, we should think very, very carefully before crossing this line."

But Labour leader Ed Miliband urged the government to accept the report in its entirety, saying he wanted the new regulatory system up and running by 2015.

Delivering his report, Lord Justice Leveson acknowledged that all of the press served the country "very well for the vast majority of the time," holding a privileged and powerful place as a defender of democracy and the public interest.

The prime minister set up the Leveson Inquiry in July 2011 after it emerged journalists working for the Sunday tabloid the News of the World had hacked the mobile phone of murdered Surrey schoolgirl Milly Dowler. The paper was subsequently shut down by its owners News International.

[B]'Accountable press'[/B]

Among Lord Justice Leveson's findings:

• All of the press served the country "very well for the vast majority of the time"
• The press must create a new and tough regulator backed by legislation to ensure it was effective
• This cannot be characterised as statutory regulation
• Legally-binding arbitration process needed to force newspapers to deal effectively with complaints
• Some "troubling evidence" in relation to the actions of some police officers - but no proof of widespread corruption
• Over last 30 years all political parties have had too close a relationship with the press which has not been in the public interest
• Former Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt was not biased in his handling of News Corp's BSkyB bid but failed to supervise his special adviser properly

In his 2,000-page report, Appeal Court judge Lord Justice Leveson said the press had failed to properly regulate itself in the past, but he believed the law could be used to "validate" a new body.

Lord Justice Leveson said the legislation would enshrine, for the first time, a legal duty on the government to protect the freedom of the press.

He rejected a proposal from the press itself to enforce standards through contracts, saying he could not see how it could be independent.

David Sherborne, a barrister for the victims of press intrusion, said they welcomed the contents of the report.

"In particular the clear recognition of widespread failings in the behaviour, ethics and standards of the press and the devastating consequences for victims," he said.

The chairman of the Press Complaints Commission, Lord Hunt, said the press had to seize the baton and make sure it "doesn't let Lord Justice Leveson down".

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg is to make his own statement to MPs, having reportedly failed to agree a united government response with the prime minister on press regulation.[/quote]

[JustExtreme]

Some choice comments from the article.
[quote]The British press isn't free. It's a collection of biased cartels owned by powerful old men and dodgy Russian oligarchs who use them to threaten, bribe, intimidate and bully their way to political influence and financial gain. To hear them whine about being held accountable the way every other person and group in this country is as being some sort of affront to democracy is seriously annoying.[/quote]
[quote]The press only supplies demand, if we weren't happy to read trash celebrity gossip and sordid details of others personal lives, perhaps they wouldn't be doing as much of the things that have caused such scandal?
We need to stop buying trash, and they will stop printing it.[/quote]
[quote]Does anyone know of any examples where self regulation has effectively acted on behalf of a victim of the press? I struggled to find some examples.[/quote]
[quote]Headline apologies when they're wrong would help, rather than the 1 or 2 tiny lines on the back page.[/quote]
[quote]Looks like Cameron is now back-tracking on the promise he made when setting up the inquiry. He said then, that he "intended to implement the inquiry findings provided they were not bonkers"

Either he is calling Lord Leveson's findings bonkers, or he intends to break yet another promise in order to keep his rich friends in the newspaper business happy.[/quote]
[quote]How about enforcing existing laws effectively? That would be a good start.[/quote]
[quote]And now, how about an enquiry into the activities of the financial industry and how it should be regulated?[/quote]