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Thursday, October 03, 2024

Starmer kills off Leveson two

I am currently reading James O'Brien's book 'How they broke Britain' in which he recounts how David Cameron was reported to have met with Rupert Murdoch's executives on 26 separate occasions during his first 15 months in office, while Gordon Brown and Tony Blair also worked assidiously to woo the media magnate.

Despite this chumminess, Cameron couldn't avoid setting up the Leveson Inquiry following the revelation that missing school girl, Milly Dowler's voicemail had been hacked by journalists working for the News of the World. 

However, none of the legislation needed to fulfil Leveson's recommendations ever materialised, while Leveson 2, which was goimg to investigate clandestine relationships and inappropriate connections between the police and journalists was finally buried by the 2017 Conservative election manifesto.

Effectively, all that evidence and work by the inquiry has disappeared into the ether, leaving litle changed in the way the media operates, the abuses and the close relationship between leading politicians and the so-called independent organisations that are meant to scrutinise them on our behalf. But wait, we have a new government, or do we?

The Guardian reports that Keir Starmer has dismayed press regulation campaigners by confirming he has no plans to revive the second part of the Leveson inquiry into the British newspaper industry.

The paper says that the prime minister told reporters on Thursday that other issues would take precedence: “We set out in our manifesto our programme for action for this government. We’ve laid that out in the king’s speech. That clearly sets out our priorities and the second half of Leveson is not among them":

Labour and News UK have declined to comment on claims that he reached an understanding before the election with the Murdoch family’s News UK, owner of the Times and the Sun, to avoid restarting the public inquiry.

Hacked Off, which campaigns for tougher press regulation, accused him of lacking the courage to stand up to newspaper owners: “Sir Keir Starmer promised a government of integrity. He cannot achieve that while failing to commit to proceeding with an unfinished inquiry into mass criminality across the most powerful industry in the country.”

The first part of Lord Leveson’s inquiry into press ethics took place more than a decade ago, in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal that led to the closure of the News of the World. After newspaper editors and victims of press intrusion were called to give evidence during 2011 and 2012, the high court judge produced a series of largely unfulfilled recommendations on how to regulate British newspapers.

The second part of the inquiry was due to examine the relationship between the media and the police, but was put on hold until the conclusion of a series of ongoing criminal investigations. This part – dubbed Leveson 2 – was then permanently cancelled by Matt Hancock, then culture secretary, in 2018 after lobbying from News UK, despite strong parliamentary backing for another inquiry.

Jeremy Corbyn pledged to revive the inquiry when he was Labour leader. But Starmer, who led the unsuccessful criminal prosecution of News UK boss Rebekah Brooks, has softened his party’s stance on press regulation. The Sun and the Sunday Times endorsed the Labour party ahead of the general election.
Everything has changed but nothing has changed, and it is the public who are the losers.
# posted by Peter Black : 6:00 AM
Comments:
A stitch up.
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 9:05 PM
 
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