APPENDIX 5: FORMAL MINUTES
Extract from the House of Lords Minutes of Proceedings
of 28 June 2011
Privacy and injunctions—Lord Strathclyde moved
that it is expedient that a joint committee of Lords and Commons
be appointed to consider privacy and injunctions, including:
(1) how the statutory and common law on privacy and
the use of anonymity injunctions and super-injunctions has operated
in practice;
(2) how best to strike the balance between privacy
and freedom of expression, in particular how best to determine
whether there is a public interest in material concerning people's
private and family life;
(3) issues relating to the enforcement of anonymity
injunctions and super-injunctions, including the internet, cross-border
jurisdiction within the United Kingdom, parliamentary privilege
and the rule of law; and
(4) issues relating to media regulation in this context,
including the role of the Press Complaints Commission and the
Office of Communications (OFCOM);
and that the committee should report by 29 February
2012.
After debate, the motion was agreed to and a message
was sent to the Commons.
Extract from the Votes and Proceedings of the House
of Commons of 14 July 2011
Privacy and Injunctions (Joint Committee)—Resolved,
That this House concurs with the Lords Message of 27 June, that
it is expedient that a Joint Committee of Lords and Commons be
appointed to consider privacy and injunctions, including:
(1) how the statutory and common law on privacy and
the use of anonymity injunctions and super-injunctions has operated
in practice;
(2) how best to strike the balance between privacy
and freedom of expression, in particular how best to determine
whether there is a public interest in material concerning people's
private and family life;
(3) issues relating to the enforcement of anonymity
injunctions and super-injunctions, including the internet, cross-border
jurisdiction within the United Kingdom, parliamentary privilege
and the rule of law; and
(4) issues relating to media regulation in this context,
including the role of the Press Complaints Commission and the
Office of Communications (OFCOM);
That the Committee should report by 29 February 2012;
That a Select Committee of thirteen Members be appointed
to join with the Committee appointed by the Lords;
That the Committee shall have power-
(i) to send for persons, papers and records;
(ii) to sit notwithstanding any adjournment of the
House;
(iii) to report from time to time;
(iv) to appoint specialist advisers; and
(v) to adjourn from place to place within the United
Kingdom;
That Mr Ben Bradshaw, Mr Robert Buckland, Philip
Davies, George Eustice, Paul Farrelly, Martin Horwood, Eric Joyce,
Mr Elfyn Llwyd, Penny Mordaunt, Yasmin Qureshi, Ms Gisela Stuart,
Mr John Whittingdale and Nadhim Zahawi be members of the Committee.—(James
Duddridge)
Extract from the House of Lords Minutes of Proceedings
of 18 July 2011
Privacy and Injunctions—The Chairman of Committees
moved that the Commons message of 14 July be considered and that
a Committee of thirteen Lords be appointed to join with the Committee
appointed by the Commons to consider privacy and injunctions,
including:
(1) how the statutory and common law on privacy and
the use of anonymity injunctions and super-injunctions has operated
in practice;
(2) how best to strike the balance between privacy
and freedom of expression, in particular how best to determine
whether there is a public interest in material concerning people's
private and family life;
(3) issues relating to the enforcement of anonymity
injunctions and super-injunctions, including the internet, cross-border
jurisdiction within the United Kingdom, parliamentary privilege
and the rule of law; and
(4) issues relating to media regulation in this context,
including the role of the Press Complaints Commission and the
Office of Communications (OFCOM);
That the Committee should report by 29 February 2012;
That, as proposed by the Committee of Selection,
the following members be appointed to the Committee:
L Black of Brentwood
B Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury
Bp of Chester
B Corston
L Dobbs
L Gold
L Grabiner
| L Harries of Pentregarth
L Hollick
L Janvrin
L Mawhinney
L Myners
L Thomas of Gresford;
|
That the Committee have power to agree with the Committee
appointed by the Commons in the appointment of a Chairman;
That the Committee have power to send for persons,
papers and records;
That the Committee have power to appoint specialist
advisers;
That the Committee have leave to report from time
to time;
That the Committee have power to adjourn from place
to place within the United Kingdom;
That the reports of the Committee from time to time
shall be printed, regardless of any adjournment of the House;
and
That the evidence taken by the Committee shall, if
the Committee so wishes, be published.
The motion was agreed to and a message was sent to
the Commons.
Extract from the House of Lords Minutes of Proceedings
of 5 September 2011
Privacy and Injunctions—The Chairman of Committees
moved that Lord Boateng be appointed a member of the Joint Committee
in place of Lord Grabiner. The motion was agreed to.
Extract from the House of Lords Minutes of Proceedings
of 25 January 2012
Privacy and Injunctions—Lord Strathclyde moved
that, notwithstanding the Resolution of this House of 27 June
2011, it be an instruction to the Joint Committee on Privacy and
Injunctions that it should report by 15 March 2012. The motion
was agreed to and a message was sent to the Commons.
Extract from the Votes and Proceedings of the House
of Commons of 30 January 2012
Privacy and Injunctions (Joint Committee)—Resolved,
That this House concurs with the Lords Message of 25 January 2012
and that, notwithstanding the Resolution of this House of 14 July
2011, it be an instruction to the Joint Committee on Privacy and
Injunctions that it should report by 15 March 2012.—(Mr
David Heath)
Thursday 8 September 2011
Present:
| Lord Black of Brentwood
Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury
The Lord Bishop of Chester
Lord Dobbs
Lord Gold
Lord Harries of Pentregarth
Lord Hollick
Lord Janvrin
Lord Mawhinney
| Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
Mr Robert Buckland MP
Philip Davies MP
George Eustice MP
Martin Horwood MP
Mr Elfyn Llwyd MP
Penny Mordaunt MP
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Ms Gisela Stuart MP
Mr John Whittingdale MP
Nadhim Zahawi MP
|
Members' interests: the full lists of members' interests
as recorded in the Commons Register of Members' Interest and the
Register of Lords' Interests are noted.
Declared interests are appended to the report.
It is moved that John Whittingdale MP do take the
Chair.—(Lord Hollick)
The same is agreed to.
Ordered, That the Chair
report his election to the House of Commons.
The Orders of Reference are read.
The Joint Committee deliberate.
The Call for Evidence is agreed to.
Ordered, That the public
be admitted during the examination of witnesses, unless the Committee
orders otherwise.
Ordered, That witnesses
have permission to publish memoranda subject always to the discretion
of the Chair or where the Committee otherwise orders.
Ordered, That, unless
the Committee orders otherwise, written evidence and uncorrected
transcripts of oral evidence given to the Committee be published
on the internet.
Ordered, That the Joint
Committee be adjourned to Thursday 15 September at 10 o'clock.
Thursday 15 September 2011
Present:
|
Lord Black of Brentwood
The Lord Bishop of Chester
Lord Gold
Lord Mawhinney
Lord Myners
Lord Thomas of Gresford
| Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
Mr Robert Buckland MP
Philip Davies MP
Paul Farrelly MP
Eric Joyce MP
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Ms Gisela Stuart MP
Nadhim Zahawi MP
|
Mr John Whittingdale MP (in the Chair)
The proceedings of Thursday 8 September are read.
The Joint Committee deliberate.
Ordered, That Professor
Eric Barendt, Sir Charles Gray and Paul Potts CBE be appointed
specialist advisers.
Ordered, That the Joint
Committee be adjourned to Monday 10 October at 2 o'clock.
Monday 10 October 2011
Present:
|
Lord Black of Brentwood
Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury
The Lord Bishop of Chester
Baroness Corston
Lord Dobbs
Lord Gold
Lord Harries of Pentregarth
Lord Hollick
Lord Janvrin
Lord Mawhinney
Lord Myners
Lord Thomas of Gresford
| Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
Mr Robert Buckland MP
Philip Davies MP
George Eustice MP
Paul Farrelly MP
Martin Horwood MP
Eric Joyce MP
Mr Elfyn Llwyd MP
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Ms Gisela Stuart MP
|
Mr John Whittingdale MP (in the Chair)
The proceedings of 15 September are read.
The Joint Committee deliberate.
Ordered, That the Joint
Committee be adjourned to Monday 17 October at 2 o'clock.
Monday 17 October 2011
Present:
| Lord Black of Brentwood
Lord Boateng
Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury
The Lord Bishop of Chester
Baroness Corston
Lord Dobbs
Lord Gold
Lord Harries of Pentregarth
Lord Hollick
Lord Janvrin
Lord Mawhinney
Lord Myners
Lord Thomas of Gresford
| Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
Mr Robert Buckland MP
Philip Davies MP
George Eustice MP
Paul Farrelly MP
Martin Horwood MP
Eric Joyce MP
Mr Elfyn Llwyd MP
Penny Mordaunt MP
Ms Gisela Stuart MP
Nadhim Zahawi MP
|
Mr John Whittingdale MP (in the Chair)
The proceedings of 10 October are read.
The Joint Committee deliberate.
The following witnesses are examined:
The Rt Hon. Jack Straw MP, Home Secretary during
the passage of the Human Rights Act 1998 through Parliament, the
Rt Hon. Lord Wakeham, chairman of the Press Complaints Commission
during the passage of the Human Rights Act 1998 through Parliament,
the Rt Hon. Sir Stephen Sedley, Lord Justice of Appeal, 1999-2011,
and Professor Gavin Phillipson, Durham Law School, University
of Durham.
Ordered, That the Joint
Committee be adjourned to Monday 24 October at half-past 2 o'clock
Monday 24 October 2011
Present:
|
Lord Black of Brentwood
Lord Boateng
The Lord Bishop of Chester
Lord Dobbs
Lord Gold
Lord Harries of Pentregarth
Lord Hollick
Lord Janvrin
Lord Thomas of Gresford
| Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
Paul Farrelly MP
Eric Joyce MP
Penny Mordaunt MP
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Ms Gisela Stuart MP
|
Mr John Whittingdale MP (in the Chair)
The proceedings of 17 October are read.
The Joint Committee deliberate.
The following witnesses are examined:
David Price QC, solicitor-advocate, David Price Solicitors
and Advocates, Gavin Millar QC, Doughty Street Chambers, Gillian
Phillips, Director of Editorial Legal Services, The Guardian,
and Keith Mathieson, Reynolds Porter Chamberlain;
Hugh Tomlinson QC, Matrix Chambers, Gideon Benaim,
Schillings, and Alasdair Pepper, Carter-Ruck.
Ordered, That the Joint
Committee be adjourned to Monday 31 October at 2 o'clock.
Monday 31 October 2011
Present:
|
Lord Black of Brentwood
Lord Boateng
Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury
The Lord Bishop of Chester
Baroness Corston
Lord Dobbs
Lord Harries of Pentregarth
Lord Hollick
Lord Janvrin
Lord Mawhinney
Lord Thomas of Gresford
| Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
Mr Robert Buckland MP
Philip Davies MP
George Eustice MP
Paul Farrelly MP
Martin Horwood MP
Eric Joyce MP
Mr Elfyn Llwyd MP
Penny Mordaunt MP
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Nadhim Zahawi MP
|
Mr John Whittingdale MP (in the Chair)
The proceedings of 24 October are read.
The Joint Committee deliberate.
The following witnesses are examined:
Joshua Rozenberg, legal commentator and journalist,
Professor Steven Barnett, Professor of Communications, Westminster
University, and Professor Brian Cathcart, Founder of Hacked Off
and Professor of Journalism at Kingston University London;
Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, Ian
Hislop, editor, Private Eye, John Witherow, editor, Sunday
Times, and Jonathan Grun, editor of the Press Association.
Ordered, That the Joint
Committee be adjourned to Monday 7 November at 2 o'clock.
Monday 7 November 2011
Present:
|
Lord Black of Brentwood
Lord Boateng
The Lord Bishop of Chester
Lord Dobbs
Lord Gold
Lord Harries of Pentregarth
Lord Hollick
Lord Janvrin
Lord Mawhinney
Lord Myners
Lord Thomas of Gresford
| Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
George Eustice MP
Martin Horwood MP
Mr Elfyn Llwyd MP
Penny Mordaunt MP
Ms Gisela Stuart MP
Nadhim Zahawi MP
|
Mr John Whittingdale MP (in the Chair)
The proceedings of 31 October are read.
The Joint Committee deliberate.
The following witnesses are examined:
Richard Walker, editor, Sunday Herald, John
McLellan, editor, The Scotsman, Matt McKenzie, editor,
The Sunday Sun, Alastair Machray, editor, Liverpool
Echo, and Neil Fowler, Nuffield College, Oxford, and former
editor of five regional newspapers;
Prash Naik, Controller of Legal and Compliance, Channel
4, David Jordan, Director of Editorial Policy and Standards, BBC,
and Valerie Nazareth, Head of Programme Legal Advice, BBC.
Ordered, That the Joint
Committee be adjourned to Monday 14 November at 2 o'clock.
Monday 14 November 2011
Present:
|
Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury
The Lord Bishop of Chester
Lord Dobbs
Lord Gold
Lord Harries of Pentregarth
Lord Hollick
Lord Janvrin
Lord Mawhinney
Lord Myners
Lord Thomas of Gresford
| Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
Mr Robert Buckland MP
Philip Davies MP
George Eustice MP
Martin Horwood MP
Mr Elfyn Llwyd MP
Ms Gisela Stuart MP
|
Mr John Whittingdale MP (in the Chair)
The proceedings of 7 November are read.
The Joint Committee deliberate.
The following witnesses are examined:
Paul Staines, editor, "Guido Fawkes" blog,
Jamie East, managing editor, "Holy Moly" blog, David
Allen Green, "Jack of Kent" blog and legal correspondent
of the New Statesman, and Richard Wilson, blogger and tweeter,
"Don't Get Fooled";
Sir Christopher Meyer, former chair of the Press
Complaints Commission, Martin Moore, Director of the Media Standards
Trust, Julian Petley, chair of the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting
Freedom, and John Kampfner, chief executive, Index on Censorship.
Ordered, That the Joint
Committee be adjourned to Monday 21 November at 2 o'clock.
Monday 21 November 2011
Present:
|
Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury
The Lord Bishop of Chester
Lord Black of Brentwood
Baroness Corston
Lord Dobbs
Lord Gold
Lord Harries of Pentregarth
Lord Hollick
Lord Janvrin
| Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
Mr Robert Buckland MP
Paul Farrelly MP
Martin Horwood MP
Eric Joyce MP
Mr Elfyn Llwyd MP
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Ms Gisela Stuart MP
|
Mr John Whittingdale MP (in the Chair)
The proceedings of 14 November are read.
The Joint Committee deliberate.
The following witnesses are examined:
The Rt Hon. Sir Nicholas Wall, President of the Family
Division of the High Court, and Mr Justice Baker;
The Rt Hon. Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury, Master
of the Rolls, and Mr Justice Tugendhat.
Ordered, That the Joint
Committee be adjourned to Monday 28 November at 2 o'clock.
Monday 28 November 2011
Present:
|
The Lord Bishop of Chester
Lord Black of Brentwood
Lord Boateng
Baroness Corston
Lord Dobbs
Lord Gold
Lord Janvrin
Lord Mawhinney
Lord Thomas of Gresford
| Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
Mr Robert Buckland MP
George Eustice MP
Paul Farrelly MP
Eric Joyce MP
Penny Mordaunt MP
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Ms Gisela Stuart MP
Nadhim Zahawi MP
|
Lord Hollick (in the Chair)
The proceedings of 21 November are read.
The Joint Committee deliberate.
The following witnesses are examined:
Professor Andrew Murray, Professor of Law, London
School of Economics, Dr Ian Brown, Senior Research Fellow, Oxford
Internet Institute, Ashley Van Haeften, trustee, Wikimedia UK,
and Nicholas Lansman, secretary general, Internet Service Providers
Association;
Richard Desmond, chairman, Northern & Shell Network
Ltd, Paul Ashford, editorial director, Northern & Shell Network
Ltd, and Hugh Whittow, editor, Daily Express.
Ordered, That the Joint
Committee be adjourned to Monday 5 December at 2 o'clock.
Monday 5 December 2011
Present:
|
The Lord Bishop of Chester
Lord Black of Brentwood
Lord Boateng
Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury
Lord Dobbs
Lord Gold
Lord Harries of Pentregarth
Lord Mawhinney
Lord Thomas of Gresford
| Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
Mr Robert Buckland MP
George Eustice MP
Eric Joyce MP
Mr Elfyn Llwyd MP
Penny Mordaunt MP
Ms Gisela Stuart MP
Nadhim Zahawi MP
|
Mr John Whittingdale MP (in the Chair)
The proceedings of 28 November are read.
The Joint Committee deliberate.
The following witnesses are examined:
Steve Coogan, Zac Goldsmith MP, Hugh Grant and Max
Mosley;
Stephen Abell, director, Press Complaints Commission,
Ed Richards, chief executive, Ofcom, Tony Close, Director of Standards,
Ofcom, and Pete Johnson, chief executive officer, Authority for
Television On Demand.
Ordered, That the written
evidence from John Hemming MP and John Mann MP be not published
and that witnesses do not have permission to publish as evidence
submitted to the Committee.
Ordered, That the Joint
Committee be adjourned to Monday 12 December at 2 o'clock.
Monday 12 December 2011
Present:
| The Lord Bishop of Chester
Lord Black of Brentwood
Lord Boateng
Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury
Baroness Corston
Lord Dobbs
Lord Gold
Lord Harries of Pentregarth
Lord Hollick
Lord Janvrin
Lord Mawhinney
Lord Myners
Lord Thomas of Gresford
| Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
Paul Farrelly MP
Mr Elfyn Llwyd MP
Penny Mordaunt MP
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Nadhim Zahawi MP
|
Mr John Whittingdale MP (in the Chair)
The proceedings of 5 December are read.
The Joint Committee deliberate.
The following witnesses are examined:
Viscount Rothermere, chairman, Daily Mail & General
Trust plc, Kevin Beatty, chief executive, A & N Media, and
Liz Hartley, Head of Editorial Legal Services, Associated Newspapers;
James Harding, editor, The Times, Peter Wright,
editor, Mail on Sunday, and Bob Satchwell, executive
director, Society of Editors.
Resolved, that the Joint
Committee request an extension to its deadline to Thursday 15
March 2012.
Ordered, That the Joint
Committee be adjourned to Monday 19 December at 2 o'clock.
Monday 19 December 2011
Present:
|
Lord Black of Brentwood
Lord Boateng
Baroness Corston
Lord Dobbs
Lord Gold
Lord Harries of Pentregarth
Lord Hollick
Lord Janvrin
Lord Mawhinney
Lord Thomas of Gresford
| Mr Robert Buckland MP
Philip Davies MP
George Eustice MP
Martin Horwood MP
Penny Mordaunt MP
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Ms Gisela Stuart MP
Nadhim Zahawi MP
|
Mr John Whittingdale MP (in the Chair)
The proceedings of 12 December are read.
The Joint Committee deliberate.
The following witnesses are examined:
Professor Anthony Bradley QC, Research Fellow, Institute
of European and Comparative Law, University of Oxford, David Howarth,
Reader in Law at Cambridge University and former MP, and Sir William
McKay, Clerk of the House of Commons, 1998-2002;
David Beamish, Clerk of the Parliaments, Peter Milledge,
Deputy Counsel to the Chairman of Committees, House of Lords,
Robert Rogers, Clerk of the House of Commons, and Michael Carpenter,
Speaker's Counsel.
Ordered, That the Joint
Committee be adjourned to Monday 16 January 2012 at 2 o'clock.
Monday 16 January 2012
Present:
|
Lord Black of Brentwood
Lord Boateng
The Lord Bishop of Chester
Baroness Corston
Lord Dobbs
Lord Gold
Lord Harries of Pentregarth
Lord Janvrin
Lord Mawhinney
Lord Myners
| Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
Mr Robert Buckland MP
George Eustice MP
Paul Farrelly MP
Martin Horwood MP
Eric Joyce MP
Penny Mordaunt MP
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Nadhim Zahawi MP
|
Mr John Whittingdale MP (in the Chair)
The proceedings of 19 December 2011 are read.
The Joint Committee deliberate.
The following witnesses are examined:
The Rt Hon. Kenneth Clarke QC MP, Lord Chancellor
and Secretary of State for Justice, and The Rt Hon. Jeremy Hunt
MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport;
The Rt Hon. Dominic Grieve QC MP, Attorney General.
Ordered, That the Joint
Committee be adjourned to Thursday 19 January 2012 at 2 o'clock.
Thursday 19 January 2012
Present:
|
Lord Black of Brentwood
Lord Boateng
Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury
Lord Janvrin
Lord Myners
Lord Thomas of Gresford
| Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
Mr Robert Buckland MP
Martin Horwood MP
Eric Joyce MP
Penny Mordaunt MP
Yasmin Qureshi MP
|
Mr John Whittingdale MP (in the Chair)
The proceedings of 16 January are read.
The Joint Committee deliberate.
The following witnesses are examined:
Evgeny Lebedev, chairman, Independent Print Ltd and
Evening Standard Ltd, Andrew Mullins, managing director, Independent
Print Ltd and Evening Standard Ltd, and Chris Blackhurst, editor,
The Independent.
Resolved, That the Committee
now take evidence in private.
The following witnesses are examined:
John Mann MP;
John Hemming MP.
Ordered, That the Joint
Committee be adjourned to Monday 23 January at 2 o'clock.
Monday 23 January 2012
Present:
|
Lord Boateng
Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury
The Lord Bishop of Chester
Baroness Corston
Lord Dobbs
Lord Gold
Lord Harries of Pentregarth
Lord Hollick
Lord Janvrin
Lord Thomas of Gresford
| Mr Robert Buckland MP
George Eustice MP
Paul Farrelly MP
Martin Horwood MP
Eric Joyce MP
Mr Elfyn Llwyd MP
Penny Mordaunt MP
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Ms Gisela Stuart MP
Nadhim Zahawi MP
|
Mr John Whittingdale MP (in the Chair)
The proceedings of 19 January are read.
The Joint Committee deliberate.
The following witnesses are examined:
Paul Vickers, Secretary and Group Legal Director,
Trinity Mirror plc, Marcus Partington, Deputy Secretary/Group
Legal Director, Trinity Mirror plc, and Richard Wallace, editor,
Daily Mirror;
Martin Clarke, Publisher, Mail Online, Edward Roussel,
Digital Editor, Telegraph Media Group, Phillip Webster, editor,
Times Online.
Ordered, That the Joint
Committee be adjourned to Monday 30 January at 2 o'clock.
Monday 30 January 2012
Present:
|
Lord Black of Brentwood
Lord Boateng
Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury
Baroness Corston
Lord Dobbs
Lord Gold
Lord Harries of Pentregarth
Lord Janvrin
Lord Mawhinney
Lord Myners
| Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
Mr Robert Buckland MP
Philip Davies MP
Paul Farrelly MP
Martin Horwood MP
Eric Joyce MP
Penny Mordaunt MP
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Nadhim Zahawi MP
|
Lord Hollick (in the Chair)
The proceedings of 23 January are read.
The Joint Committee deliberate.
The following witnesses are examined:
Lord Allan of Hallam, Director of Policy in Europe,
Facebook, David-John (DJ) Collins, vice president, Global Policy
and Communications, Google, Daphne Keller, Associate General Counsel,
Google, Colin Crowell, Head of Global Public Policy, Twitter;
Max Clifford, managing director, Max Clifford Associates
Ltd, and Phil Hall, chairman, PHA Media and former editor of the
News of the World and Hello!.
Ordered, That the Joint
Committee be adjourned to Thursday 2 February at 10 o'clock.
Thursday 2 February 2012
Present:
|
Lord Black of Brentwood
Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury
Lord Dobbs
Lord Gold
Lord Janvrin
Lord Thomas of Gresford
| Mr Robert Buckland MP
Philip Davies MP
George Eustice MP
Eric Joyce MP
Penny Mordaunt MP
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Nadhim Zahawi MP
|
The Lord Bishop of Chester (in the Chair)
The proceedings of 30 January are read.
The Joint Committee deliberate.
The following witnesses are examined:
Dominic Mohan, editor, The Sun, Richard Caseby,
Group Managing Editor, News Group Newspapers, and Justin Walford,
Editorial Legal Counsel, News Group Newspapers;
Lord Hunt of Wirral, chair, Press Complaints Commission.
Ordered, That the Joint
Committee be adjourned to Monday 6 February at 2 o'clock.
Monday 6 February 2012
Present:
|
Lord Black of Brentwood
Lord Boateng
Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury
The Lord Bishop of Chester
Lord Dobbs
Lord Harries of Pentregarth
Lord Hollick
Lord Janvrin
Lord Thomas of Gresford
| Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
Mr Robert Buckland MP
George Eustice MP
Martin Horwood MP
Eric Joyce MP
Mr Elfin Llwyd MP
Penny Mordaunt MP
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Ms Gisela Stuart MP
Nadhim Zahawi MP
|
Mr John Whittingdale MP (in the Chair)
The proceedings of 2 February are read.
The Joint Committee deliberate.
The following witnesses are examined:
Alex Hall and Charlotte Harris, partner, Mishcon
de Reya solicitors.
Ordered, That the Joint
Committee be adjourned to Monday 27 February at 2 o'clock.
Monday 27 February 2012
Present:
|
Lord Black of Brentwood
Lord Boateng
Baroness Corston
Lord Dobbs
Lord Harries of Pentregarth
Lord Hollick
Lord Janvrin
Lord Mawhinney
Lord Myners
Lord Thomas of Gresford
| Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
Mr Robert Buckland MP
Philip Davies MP
George Eustice MP
Mr Elfyn Llwyd MP
Penny Mordaunt MP
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Nadhim Zahawi MP
|
Mr John Whittingdale MP (in the Chair)
The proceedings of 6 February are read.
A draft Report is proposed by the Chairman.
The Joint Committee deliberate.
Ordered, That the Joint
Committee be adjourned to Monday 5 March at 2 o'clock.
Monday 5 March 2012
Present:
|
Lord Black of Brentwood
Lord Boateng
Baroness Bonham-Carter of Yarnbury
The Lord Bishop of Chester
Baroness Corston
Lord Dobbs
Lord Gold
Lord Harries of Pentregarth
Lord Hollick
Lord Janvrin
Lord Mawhinney
Lord Myners
| Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
Mr Robert Buckland MP
Philip Davies MP
George Eustice MP
Paul Farrelly MP
Martin Horwood MP
Ms Gisela Stuart MP
Nadhim Zahawi MP
|
Mr John Whittingdale MP (in the Chair)
The proceedings of 27 February are read.
A revised draft Report is proposed by the Chairman.
The Joint Committee deliberate.
Ordered, That the further
supplementary written evidence from Mark Burby be not published
and that the witness do not have permission to publish as evidence
submitted to the Committee.
Ordered, That the Joint
Committee be adjourned to Monday 12 March at 2 o'clock.
Monday 12 March 2012
Present:
| Lord Black of Brentwood
Lord Boateng
The Lord Bishop of Chester
Baroness Corston
Lord Dobbs
Lord Harries of Pentregarth
Lord Hollick
Lord Janvrin
Lord Mawhinney
Lord Myners
Lord Thomas of Gresford
| Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
Mr Robert Buckland MP
Philip Davies MP
George Eustice MP
Paul Farrelly MP
Martin Horwood MP
Mr Elfyn Llwyd MP
Penny Mordaunt MP
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Nadhim Zahawi MP
|
Mr John Whittingdale MP (in the Chair)
The proceedings of 5 March are read.
A further revised draft Report is proposed by the
Chairman.
The Joint Committee deliberate.
Paragraphs 1 to 31 are agreed to.
It is moved by Ben Bradshaw MP in line 1 of paragraph
32 to leave out the words "now striking a better"
and insert "striking the right".
The Committee divides.
|
Content, 10
Lord Boateng
Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
The Lord Bishop of Chester
Baroness Corston
Paul Farrelly MP
Lord Harries of Pentregarth
Lord Hollick
Lord Janvrin
Lord Myners
Yasmin Qureshi MP
| Not content, 10
Lord Black of Brentwood
Mr Robert Buckland MP
Philip Davies MP
Lord Dobbs
George Eustice MP
Martin Horwood MP
Mr Elfyn Llwyd MP
Lord Mawhinney
Penny Mordaunt MP
Mr John Whittingdale MP
|
The numbers are equal, so the amendment is disagreed to in accordance
with Lords standing order 56.
Question put, That paragraph 32 be agreed to.
The Committee divides.
|
Content, 16
Lord Black of Brentwood
Lord Boateng
Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
Mr Robert Buckland MP
The Lord Bishop of Chester
Baroness Corston
Lord Dobbs
Paul Farrelly MP
Lord Harries of Pentregarth
Lord Hollick
Lord Janvrin
Lord Mawhinney
Penny Mordaunt MP
Lord Myners
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Mr John Whittingdale MP
| Not content, 4
Philip Davies MP
George Eustice MP
Martin Horwood MP
Mr Elfyn Llwyd MP
|
Paragraph 32 is agreed to accordingly.
Paragraphs 33 to 36 are agreed to.
It is moved by Robert Buckland MP to leave out paragraphs
37 to 41 and insert the following new paragraphs:
"The Human Rights Act 1998 is the basis of
the United Kingdom's privacy law. The issue is whether it could
be improved to give clearer definition to the balance between
the right to privacy and the right to freedom of expression. We
believe that a statutory definition of privacy, based upon the
terms of article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights,
is achievable and should be introduced.
A statute of privacy
It has been suggested that, while it would be extremely
difficult to draw up a detailed legislative definition of privacy,
there is value in a statute which restates the right to privacy
in broad terms, giving it the clear imprimatur of Parliament and
thus the democratic process. No longer would elements of the media
be able to rail against "judge-made law", as it would
have been endorsed by Parliament. If such a scheme were followed
judges would still decide how to strike the balance in each case—the
difference being that in so doing they would be interpreting a
statute with clear and recent parliamentary approval.
We also note that there are aspects of privacy law
in a range of different items of legislation, such as the Regulation
of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 and the Data Protection Act 1998.
There is much uncertainty and confusion in the minds of the public
about the extent of rights of individual privacy, so we propose
that Parliament acts not merely to re-state the law, but to update
it. We recommend the creation of a statute of privacy that
is based upon the rights set out in article 8 of the European
Convention on Human Rights, but which also brings together and
updates the varying strands of privacy legislation that are contained
in other statutes such as the Data Protection Act 1998. A new
Privacy Act could include stronger data protection provisions
with more severe penalties for criminal offences relating to breaches
of data protection law, for example.
We believe that concerns about the creation of
an exhaustive list of categories of private information can be
overcome by making it clear on the face of the statute that the
list is non-exhaustive.
We believe that now is the time for Parliament
to take a lead and to create a statute of privacy that will consolidate
and update the law in this area. We do not accept that it is satisfactory
for the development of privacy law to be left to the unelected
judiciary. We believe that it is the role of Parliament to set
out the balance between privacy and freedom of expression, however
contentious and difficult this might be."
The Committee divides.
|
Content, 6
Mr Robert Buckland MP
Philip Davies MP
George Eustice MP
Martin Horwood MP
Penny Mordaunt MP
Lord Thomas of Gresford
| Not content, 15
Lord Black of Brentwood
Lord Boateng
Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
The Lord Bishop of Chester
Baroness Corston
Lord Dobbs
Paul Farrelly MP
Lord Harries of Pentregarth
Lord Hollick
Lord Janvrin
Mr Elfyn Llwyd MP
Lord Mawhinney
Lord Myners
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Mr John Whittingdale MP
|
The amendment is disagreed to and paragraphs 37 to 41 are agreed
to accordingly.
Paragraphs 42 to 49 are agreed to, with amendments.
Question put, That paragraph 50 be agreed to.
The Committee divides.
|
Content, 17
Lord Black of Brentwood
Lord Boateng
Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
The Lord Bishop of Chester
Baroness Corston
Philip Davies MP
Lord Dobbs
Paul Farrelly MP
Lord Harries of Pentregarth
Lord Hollick
Lord Janvrin
Mr Elfyn Llwyd MP
Lord Mawhinney
Lord Myners
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Lord Thomas of Gresford
Mr John Whittingdale MP
| Not content, 5
Mr Robert Buckland MP
George Eustice MP
Martin Horwood MP
Penny Mordaunt MP
Nadim Zahawi MP
|
Paragraph 50 is agreed to accordingly.
Paragraphs 51 to 58 are agreed to.
It is moved by Philip Davies MP to leave out paragraph
59 and insert the following new paragraph:
"There is a clear tension between articles
8 and 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights; neither right
has a priority over the other, creating uncertainty in the law. We
believe that there should be a presumption in favour of freedom
of expression and we therefore believe that section 12 is an underemphasised
but crucial part of the Human Rights Act 1998. We believe
that the courts should give greater weight to section 12 than
they currently do, and have greater regard for freedom of expression
as set out in section 12 for it to have any meaning at all. Section
12 of the Human Rights Act 1998 is fundamental in protecting the
freedom of the press and it is essential that this is recognised
by the courts."
The Committee divides.
|
Content, 2
Philip Davies MP
Martin Horwood MP
| Not content, 20
Lord Black of Brentwood
Lord Boateng
Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
Mr Robert Buckland MP
The Lord Bishop of Chester
Baroness Corston
Lord Dobbs
George Eustice MP
Paul Farrelly MP
Lord Harries of Pentregarth
Lord Hollick
Lord Janvrin
Mr Elfyn Llwyd MP
Lord Mawhinney
Penny Mordaunt MP
Lord Myners
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Lord Thomas of Gresford
Mr John Whittingdale MP
Nadhim Zahawi MP
|
The amendment is disagreed to accordingly.
It is moved by George Eustice MP to leave out paragraph
59 and insert the following new paragraph:
"In evidence we heard that section 12(4)
of the Human Rights Act 1998 had no practical effect and was largely
discounted by the courts because all Convention rights must be
given equal weight. Other witnesses suggested that, were section
12(4) to have meaning, then the HRA would not be compliant with
the European Convention. We do not believe it is a satisfactory
state of affairs to have a section of the Human Rights Act 1998
which is largely discounted by the courts and possibly non-compliant
with the European Convention on Human Rights and we therefore
recommend that the Commission on a Bill of Rights considers whether
a better way can be found to balance the competing rights of article
8 and article 10."
The Committee divides.
Content, 10
Mr Robert Buckland MP
Philip Davies MP
George Eustice MP
Lord Harries of Pentregarth
Martin Horwood MP
Lord Mawhinney
Penny Mordaunt MP
Lord Thomas of Gresford
Mr John Whittingdale MP
Nadhim Zahawi MP
| Not content, 12
Lord Black of Brentwood
Lord Boateng
Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
The Lord Bishop of Chester
Baroness Corston
Lord Dobbs
Paul Farrelly MP
Lord Hollick
Lord Janvrin
Mr Elfyn Llwyd MP
Lord Myners
Yasmin Qureshi MP
|
The amendment is disagreed to and paragraph 59 is agreed to accordingly.
Paragraphs 60 to 92 are agreed to, with amendments.
It is moved by Martin Horwood MP to leave out paragraph
93 and insert the following new paragraph:
"The forms of new media range from news websites
and blogs on which organisations and individuals publish news
and opinion much as traditional publishers or news broadcasters
do, through second generation websites like Facebook and Twitter
which act as real-time communication channels used millions of
times an hour, to search engines which are largely tools for the
efficient and useful location on the web of information and material
published by others. New communications and information systems
and platforms will inevitably follow. This offers an opportunity
for those seeking to invade someone else's privacy as their initial
act can be quickly replicated and discovered by many other web
users. This in turn poses an obvious challenge for any authority
seeking to protect privacy without unduly restricting the free
flow of information."
The Committee divides.
|
Content, 8
Lord Black of Brentwood
Mr Robert Buckland MP
Philip Davies MP
Lord Dobbs
Lord Harries of Pentregarth
Martin Horwood MP
Mr Elfyn Llwyd MP
Mr John Whittingdale MP
| Not content, 13
Lord Boateng
Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
The Lord Bishop of Chester
Baroness Corston
George Eustice MP
Paul Farrelly MP
Lord Hollick
Lord Janvrin
Lord Mawhinney
Lord Myners
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Lord Thomas of Gresford
Nadhim Zahawi MP
|
The amendment is disagreed to and paragraph 93 is agreed to accordingly.
Paragraphs 94 to 103 are agreed to, with amendments.
It is moved by Martin Horwood MP in line 3 of paragraph
104 to leave out the words "The threshold for him intervening
should be lower."
The Committee divides.
|
Content, 6
Mr Robert Buckland MP
The Lord Bishop of Chester
Philip Davies MP
George Eustice MP
Paul Farrelly MP
Martin Horwood MP
| Not content, 14
Lord Black of Brentwood
Lord Boateng
Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
Baroness Corston
Lord Dobbs
Lord Harries of Pentregarth
Lord Janvrin
Mr Elfyn Llwyd MP
Lord Mawhinney
Lord Myners
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Lord Thomas of Gresford
Mr John Whittingdale MP
Nadhim Zahawi MP
|
The amendment is disagreed to accordingly.
Paragraph 104 is agreed to.
It is moved by Martin Horwood MP to insert the following
new paragraph after paragraph 104:
"Regulation 17 of the UK's Electronic Commerce
(EC Directive) Regulations 2002 treats providers of 'information
society services' as 'mere conduits', excluding them from liability
for information transmitted using their services providing they
have played no role in initiating, selecting or modifying the
information."
The Committee divides.
|
Content, 2
Philip Davies MP
Martin Horwood MP
| Not content, 19
Lord Black of Brentwood
Lord Boateng
Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
Mr Robert Buckland MP
The Lord Bishop of Chester
Baroness Corston
Lord Dobbs
George Eustice MP
Paul Farrelly MP
Lord Harries of Pentregarth
Lord Hollick
Lord Janvrin
Mr Elfyn Llwyd MP
Lord Mawhinney
Lord Myners
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Lord Thomas of Gresford
Mr John Whittingdale MP
Nadhim Zahawi MP
|
The amendment is disagreed to accordingly.
Paragraphs 105 to 108 are agreed to, with amendments.
It is moved by Martin Horwood MP to leave out paragraph
109 and insert the following new paragraph:
"We recommend that, when granting an injunction,
courts should make clear to those on whom the injunction is served
that it applies to content posted on websites and blogs or communicated
through social media and that enforcement action should be taken
against those who breach such injunctions regardless of media.
Beyond this, claimants should make full use of notice and take-down
procedures operated by responsible internet service and social
media providers, who should also seek to disseminate best practice
and discourage illegality amongst both users and other providers."
The Committee divides.
|
Content, 4
Mr Robert Buckland MP
Philip Davies MP
Martin Horwood MP
Lord Thomas of Gresford
| Not content, 15
Lord Black of Brentwood
Lord Boateng
Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
Baroness Corston
Lord Dobbs
George Eustice MP
Paul Farrelly MP
Lord Harries of Pentregarth
Lord Hollick
Lord Janvrin
Lord Mawhinney
Lord Myners
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Mr John Whittingdale MP
Nadhim Zahawi MP
|
The amendment is disagreed to and paragraph 109 is agreed to accordingly,
with amendments.
It is moved by Martin Horwood MP to leave out paragraphs
110 to 115 and insert the following new paragraphs:
"A weakness of notice and take-down procedures
is that even though links to offending content on particular websites
can be removed on request from search engine results within hours,
and without fresh court orders each time, new websites can always
appear reproducing similar versions of the same content. For anyone
to track and attempt to block these sites is likely to be time-consuming
and possibly costly.
Max Mosley explained the difficulties he had faced
in trying to remove offending pictures from appearing in internet
searches—
"Every time an obscure, tiny site in the Andes
puts it up, you have to put your lawyers into action to take it
down. We had a very high-level meeting with Google in which I
said, "Here are the pictures. We know which ones they are.
Simply programme your search engine so they don't appear."
That is demonstrably technically feasible. They refused to do
it as a matter of principle."
In response to that Daphne Keller, Associate General
Counsel at Google, said—
"We do not have a mechanism that finds duplicates
of pictures or text and makes them disappear from our Web Search
results. As a policy matter, I do not think that would be a good
idea, simply because an algorithm or a computer programme that
tried to do something like that would not have the ability that
a judge does or any person does to see the context, to see if
a particular phrase is actually appearing in a news report or
in political commentary."
Ms Keller acknowledged that it might be technically
possible to develop algorithms that allow Google to filter in
the manner suggested by Mr Mosley in future, but argued that this
would not be desirable from a policy point of view, as it would
require Google as an intermediary proactively to monitor content
on the internet. In addition, she said the European Court of Justice
in Scarlet v SABAM had ruled that pro-active monitoring
was not required under the Electronic Commerce Directive, and
an attempt to require them pro-actively to monitor may not be
consistent with the Directive.
Where an individual has obtained a clear court
order that certain material infringes their privacy and so should
not be published but multiple websites manage to evade this order,
we urge internet service providers, social media providers and
search engines to use their best endeavours and co-ordinate effective
action to prevent access to content they know to be illegal, at
minimum or no cost to the victims of such illegal content.
Google acknowledged that it was possible to develop
the technology proactively to monitor websites for such material
in order that the material does not appear in the results of searches.
There is an obvious risk in urging the use of automated search
algorithms to try to remove offending content. In an ideal world,
search engines and communications platforms would automatically
suppress links to any website with illegal content as soon as
it was deemed to be illegal, while ensuring that all legal and
legitimate content and communication was protected. In reality,
due to the sheer volume of communications and the limitations
of automated systems, this would undoubtedly result in the removal
of legitimate websites from search results. If free speech and
legitimate comment are to be protected on the internet, the exercise
of human judgement is likely to remain essential to the process
which involves the suppression of content."
The Committee divides.
Content, 6
Lord Black of Brentwood
Mr Robert Buckland MP
Philip Davies MP
Lord Dobbs
Lord Harries of Pentregarth
Martin Horwood MP
| Not content, 13
Lord Boateng
Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
The Lord Bishop of Chester
Baroness Corston
George Eustice MP
Paul Farrelly MP
Lord Hollick
Lord Janvrin
Lord Mawhinney
Lord Myners
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Mr John Whittingdale MP
Nadhim Zahawi MP
|
The amendment is disagreed to and paragraphs 110 to 115 are agreed
to accordingly.
Paragraphs 116 to 118 are agreed to, with amendments.
Question put, That paragraph 119 be agreed to.
The Committee divides.
|
Content, 9
Lord Boateng
Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
The Lord Bishop of Chester
Baroness Corston
Lord Harries of Pentregarth
Lord Hollick
Lord Janvrin
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Mr John Whittingdale MP
| Not content, 8
Lord Black of Brentwood
Mr Robert Buckland MP
Philip Davies MP
Lord Dobbs
George Eustice MP
Martin Horwood MP
Lord Mawhinney
Nadhim Zahawi MP
|
Paragraph 119 is agreed to accordingly.
Paragraphs 120 to 126 are agreed to.
It is moved by Philip Davies MP at the beginning
of paragraph 127 to insert the words "We reject the case
for a statutory requirement to pre-notify. However,"
The Committee divides.
|
Content, 11
Lord Black of Brentwood
Mr Robert Buckland MP
Philip Davies MP
Lord Dobbs
George Eustice MP
Paul Farrelly MP
Lord Harries of Pentregarth
Martin Horwood MP
Lord Janvrin
Mr John Whittingdale MP
Nadhim Zahawi MP
| Not content, 8
Lord Boateng
Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
The Lord Bishop of Chester
Baroness Corston
Lord Hollick
Lord Mawhinney
Lord Myners
Yasmin Qureshi MP
|
The amendment is agreed to accordingly.
Paragraph 127, as amended, is agreed to.
Paragraphs 128 to 133 are agreed to, with amendments.
Question put, That paragraph 134 be agreed to.
The Committee divides.
|
Content, 17
Lord Boateng
Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
Mr Robert Buckland MP
The Lord Bishop of Chester
Baroness Corston
Lord Dobbs
George Eustice MP
Paul Farrelly MP
Lord Harries of Pentregarth
Lord Hollick
Martin Horwood MP
Lord Janvrin
Lord Mawhinney
Lord Myners
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Mr John Whittingdale MP
Nadhim Zahawi MP
| Not content, 2
Lord Black of Brentwood
Philip Davies MP
|
Paragraph 134 is agreed to accordingly.
Paragraphs 135 to 172 are agreed to, with amendments.
It is moved by Lord Black of Brentwood in line 3
of paragraph 173 to leave out the words ", including its
chairman,".
The Committee divides.
|
Content, 1
Lord Black of Brentwood
| Not content, 19
Lord Boateng
Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
Mr Robert Buckland MP
The Lord Bishop of Chester
Baroness Corston
Philip Davies MP
Lord Dobbs
George Eustice MP
Paul Farrelly MP
Lord Harries of Pentregarth
Lord Hollick
Martin Horwood MP
Lord Janvrin
Lord Mawhinney
Penny Mordaunt MP
Lord Myners
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Mr John Whittingdale MP
Nadhim Zahawi MP
|
The amendment is disagreed to accordingly.
Paragraph 173 is agreed to.
Paragraphs 174 to 184 are agreed to, with amendments.
It is moved by Philip Davies MP to leave out paragraphs
185 to 187 and insert the following new paragraph:
"A cardinal principle of a free press is
that it is independent of government in all its forms. It is clear
that the current system of self-regulation is broken and needs
fixing. This does not mean that a statute creating a press regulator
is the right answer. Such a statute would be a vehicle for political
interference. Even if it began its life as a light-touch regulator
the temptation would be for governments gradually to become more
involved, and for it to accrue more powers over the news media.
The industry must play a key role in establishing reformed structures,
and we welcome the initiative taken by Lord Hunt of Wirral in
bringing forward industry-led proposals for substantial reform
of the Press Complaints Commission. We believe that these form
the basis for the creation of an independent, powerful regulator
which should govern all major publishers and command the confidence
of the public."
The Committee divides.
|
Content, 2
Philip Davies MP
Lord Dobbs
| Not content, 16
Lord Boateng
Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
Mr Robert Buckland MP
The Lord Bishop of Chester
Baroness Corston
George Eustice MP
Paul Farrelly MP
Lord Harries of Pentregarth
Lord Hollick
Lord Janvrin
Lord Mawhinney
Penny Mordaunt MP
Lord Myners
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Mr John Whittingdale MP
Nadhim Zahawi MP
|
The amendment is disagreed to accordingly.
Paragraph 185 is agreed to.
It is moved by George Eustice MP to leave out paragraphs
186 and 187 and insert the following new paragraphs:
"The current Editors' Code addresses at one
end of the spectrum general standards of journalism such as accuracy
right through to breaches of privacy law at the other end of the
spectrum. We also note that the majority of the work of the Press
Complaints Commission deals with accuracy and general standards
of journalism rather than potential breaches of the law.
Regulation of the press must be independent of
government. But it is clear that the current system of self-regulation
is broken and needs fixing. We welcome the initiative taken by
Lord Hunt of Wirral in bringing forward industry-led proposals
for substantial reform of the Press Complaints Commission to address
general press standards and do not support statutory backing to
the role of the independent regulator in this area of its work.
However, we do believe that cases relating to breaches of privacy,
where an assessment of the public interest is required, represent
a different category of complaint because they relate to possible
breaches of the law already set out in statute. We therefore recommend
that, in such cases, complainants who are not satisfied with an
adjudication delivered by the new press regulator should have
the opportunity to appeal to a tribunal which is established in
statute. One option is that Ofcom be given responsibility for
arbitrating such appeals."
The Committee divides.
|
Content, 8
Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
Mr Robert Buckland MP
George Eustice MP
Paul Farrelly MP
Martin Horwood MP
Lord Janvrin
Penny Mordaunt MP
Lord Myners
| Not content, 10
Lord Black of Brentwood
Lord Boateng
The Lord Bishop of Chester
Baroness Corston
Philip Davies MP
Lord Dobbs
Lord Harries of Pentregarth
Lord Hollick
Lord Mawhinney
Mr John Whittingdale MP
|
The amendment is disagreed to accordingly.
It is moved by Lord Hollick to leave out paragraphs
186 and 187 and insert the following new paragraphs:
"Different forms of media are converging; the
websites of national newspapers now carry videos and film, whilst
some already have far higher levels of readership than their print
counterparts. Investing overall responsibility and a statutory
duty for regulation in one body would help to achieve consistency
in applying the broad framework of regulation to all forms of
media. Ofcom has established itself as a respected regulator in
its field, and we are confident that it could take on overall
responsibility for ensuring news publishers are well regulated.
As in other sectors, it would delegate day-to-day responsibilities
to a self-regulatory body, and only intervene where that body
fails or requires more powers than it has. Such an arrangement
would ensure press regulation is not within the control of government.
Regulation of the press must be independent of
government. But it is clear that the current system of self-regulation
is broken and needs fixing. We welcome the initiative taken by
Lord Hunt of Wirral in bringing forward industry-led proposals
for substantial reform of the Press Complaints Commission. However,
we think that statutory oversight of the reformed regulator is
desirable. Otherwise major publishers could opt out of its regulation.
Statutory oversight of the regulator would give it more authority
over the industry and give the public greater confidence in it."
The Committee divides.
Content, 8
Lord Boateng
Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
Baroness Corston
George Eustice MP
Lord Hollick
Lord Janvrin
Yasmin Qureshi MP
Nadhim Zahawi MP
| Not content, 12
Lord Black of Brentwood
Mr Robert Buckland MP
The Lord Bishop of Chester
Philip Davies MP
Lord Dobbs
Paul Farrelly MP
Lord Harries of Pentregarth
Martin Horwood MP
Lord Mawhinney
Penny Mordaunt MP
Lord Myners
Mr John Whittingdale MP
|
The amendment is disagreed to accordingly.
Paragraphs 186 and 187 are agreed to, with amendments.
It is moved by Ben Bradshaw MP to insert the following
new paragraph after paragraph 187:
"However, should the industry fail to establish
an independent regulator which commands public confidence, the
Government should seriously consider establishing some form of
statutory oversight. This could involve giving Ofcom or another
body overall statutory responsibility for press regulation, the
day-to-day running of which it could then devolve to a self-regulatory
body, in a similar manner to the arrangements for regulating broadcast
advertising."
The Committee divides.
|
Content, 10
Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
The Lord Bishop of Chester
Baroness Corston
George Eustice MP
Lord Hollick
Martin Horwood MP
Lord Janvrin
Penny Mordaunt MP
Lord Myners
Mr John Whittingdale MP
| Not content, 7
Lord Black of Brentwood
Lord Boateng
Philip Davies MP
Lord Dobbs
Paul Farrelly MP
Lord Harries of Pentregarth
Lord Mawhinney
|
The amendment is agreed to accordingly.
Paragraphs 189 to 194 are agreed to.
It is moved by Lord Black of Brentwood in line 2
of paragraph 195 to leave out the words "determine the
location and the size of the apology the newspaper is required
to publish, and the day of publication" and insert "negotiate
the location, size and prominence of a published apology to the
satisfaction of the complainant".
The Committee divides.
|
Content, 2
Lord Black of Brentwood
Mr John Whittingdale MP
| Not content, 14
Lord Boateng
Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
The Lord Bishop of Chester
Baroness Corston
Philip Davies MP
Lord Dobbs
George Eustice MP
Paul Farrelly MP
Lord Hollick
Martin Horwood MP
Lord Janvrin
Lord Mawhinney
Penny Mordaunt MP
Lord Myners
|
The amendment is disagreed to accordingly.
Paragraph 195 is agreed to.
Paragraphs 196 to 241 are agreed to, with amendments.
The Executive Summary is agreed to, with amendments.
The Appendices to the Report are agreed to.
Question put, That the draft Report, as amended,
be the Report of the Joint Committee.
The Committee divides.
|
Content, 10
Lord Boateng
Mr Ben Bradshaw MP
The Lord Bishop of Chester
Baroness Corston
Paul Farrelly MP
Lord Hollick
Lord Janvrin
Penny Mordaunt MP
Lord Myners
Mr John Whittingdale MP
| Not content, 7
Lord Black of Brentwood
Robert Buckland MP
Philip Davies MP
Lord Dobbs
George Eustice MP
Martin Horwood MP
Lord Mawhinney
|
The Committee accordingly agrees that the draft Report, as amended,
be the Report of the Joint Committee.
Ordered, That certain
papers be appended to the Minutes of Evidence.
Ordered, That embargoed
copies of the Report be made available, in accordance with the
provisions of Standing Order No. 134 of the House of Commons.
Ordered, That the Joint
Committee be now adjourned.
| 
