Conservative manifesto pledge to abandon Leveson part 2 and repeal section 40
Please note this is Hacked Off's old website, and it will soon be archived.
“A wholesale betrayal both of victims of press abuse and ordinary members of the public”
Responding to the Conservative manifesto announcements on Leveson, a spokesperson for Hacked Off which campaigns for victims of press abuse said,
“The Conservative manifesto pledge to abandon part 2 of the Leveson Inquiry and repeal section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act is a wholesale betrayal both of victims of press abuse and ordinary members of the public whom the Prime Minister claims to represent.”
“It will undo years of cross-party co-operation in constructing a genuinely independent and effective system of press self-regulation, which has the overwhelming support of Parliament, the public, and working journalists. It will leave ordinary people defenceless against the power of unaccountable press barons. And it will damage genuine public interest journalism.”
“Moreover, by abandoning Leveson Part 2, Mrs May appears willing to see evidence of police corruption, of newspapers’ cover-up of widespread illegality, and of collusion between police and press swept under the carpet.”
“We know that, since the 2015 general election, senior members of the Conservative government have met newspaper editors and executives with increasing frequency. We know that Theresa May, in a 36 hour visit to New York last September, found time to visit Rupert Murdoch. We know that Mrs May has had private dinners with Paul Dacre. It appears that the Prime Minister has stitched up a calculated deal to trade the interests of the public for favourable election coverage in powerful newspapers.”
“If this pledge is carried through, there will be no effective, independent regulation of the press in this country and no access to affordable justice for victims of press abuse. We wish to make it clear that those who have suffered at the hands of powerful and unaccountable newspapers will not tolerate this betrayal”.
“We will fight throughout the next Parliament to ensure that the voices of ordinary people are heard above the megaphones of self-interested newspaper editors and proprietors. We will fight to ensure that the careful regulatory framework proposed by Leveson and agreed by Parliament is not systematically dismantled by a government subservient to newspaper editors. And we will fight to ensure that any inconvenient truths about cover-ups and about collusion between police, press and politicians in the past are exposed to proper scrutiny.”
Notes: Hacked Off is the campaign for a free and accountable press, and we work with the victims of press abuse to achieve those aims.
For press enquiries and interviews: Email press@hackinginquiry.org or call Nathan Sparkes on 07554 665940
9 Comments
Join the discussion and tell us your opinion.
Entirely to be expected from a party which has its nose shoved so far up the backside of the Tory gutter press that they couldn’t smell the coffee even if the beans were shoved up its nose.
Once again the government have caved in to the interests of the press in return for the press keeping the governments dirty secrets away from us. Once again they are looking after the interests of the few.
Shame on you Theresa May. Shame on you.
Absolutely spot on editorial here. Accountability has been traded please lets get rid of this corrupt incompetent government. Hacked off has tan a great campaign please keep going.
Blatant abandonment of principle. May clearly believes her “goverment for everyone” means keeping in with the press barons and abandoning those affected by Press or Police dishonesty.
Sadly I dont think May and her ilk have any principles that they can abandon.
Please start a petition to show the public’s anger at this betrayal
There seems to be one Tory standing for re-election who believes in section 40. See Bill Wiggin’s Press Regulation Campaign: https://billwiggin.wordpress.com/campaigns/press-regulation-campaign/
I think we need a grassroots campaign to stand beside newspaper stalls in supermarkets and train stations handing out info leaflets to the public.
Fight fire with fire.
Get every university student who cares about the world to get out there campaigning…..
[…] this rise in anti-Muslim sentiment. The conservative government’s refusal to implement the Leveson inquiry recommendations shows their lack of concern for ensuring responsible and accountable press in […]