Press Regulation And Section 40

EDM number 844 in 2016-17, proposed by Anne Main on 10/01/2017.
Categorised under the topics of Press and Regulation.

That this House notes the significant consequences for local, regional and national publications if the Government was to commence section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013; recognises that the state should have no role in regulating publications; believes that the commencement of section 40 would curtail the freedom of the press in the UK by creating a chilling effect on journalism and would stifle investigative journalism; further notes that the commencement of section 40 would be an attempt to oblige publishers to sign up to a state-approved regulator or face become liable for their own and the plaintiff's legal costs, even if they were vindicated in court, which is an anathema to British justice; is therefore concerned about the potential for an increase of spurious levels of legal action against publishers; notes that the self-regulatory body, the Independent Press Standards Organisation, currently regulates over 90 per cent of the UK's press and is underpinned by contract law; and notes that the terms of reference of Part 2 of the Leveson Inquiry have already been covered by Part 1 and the criminal investigations, and believes that revisiting the same cases risks undermining the courts' verdicts and would be costly to the taxpayer.

This motion has been signed by a total of 8 MPs.