Harman slams press attitude
Eric Pickles has become the latest Cabinet minister to warn the Government against introducing statutory regulation for the press.
With the Leveson Inquiry expected to make its recommendations in November, a Sunday Telegraph editorial today warned any form of statutory regulation would "seriously imperil" a free press, insisting the industry must be allowed to govern itself.
And the Communities Secretary Mr Pickles today told Murnaghan he would be “very, very reluctant” to introduce any statutory measures.
But Labour’s Harriet Harman has hit out at the Sunday Telegraph, insisting self-regulation has failed.
The Shadow Culture Secretary this morning said it was "disappointing" that some papers had set out their positions before Lord Leveson's recommendations have been published.
"The status quo is not acceptable," she told the Andrew Marr Show. “We may need a statute to underpin a truly independent press complaints system.”
“I don’t think self-regulation should be given another chance, and obviously Lord Leveson has heard a great many revelations from the McCanns, the Dowlers, the Watsons. It’s clear that business as usual cannot obtain [fairness]. And I think it’s disappointing of the newspapers to, before Leveson even has come out, to say ‘we want the status quo’ because the status quo has failed.”