Ministers prepared to overturn Lords bid to limit press freedom
Critics say amendments to the Data Protection Act will ‘obstruct’ journalists investigating wrongdoing
THE Government is prepared to overturn a “profound and damaging” bid by peers to limit press freedom, The Daily Telegraph understands.
The House of Lords is debating a series of amendments to the Data Protection Bill which critics say will “obstruct” journalists attempting to expose criminality.
One set of amendments will limit the public interest exemption that is currently granted to journalists investigating wrongdoing.
The proposals would stop journalists from gathering information with a view to publication, instead requiring them to show it is “necessary”.
A second batch of amendments would effectively require print titles to join an officially recognised press regulator in order to handle private data without fear of breaking the law.
Several of the amendments have the support of both Labour and the Liberal Democrats, meaning that the Government is likely to be unable to block them.
However The Daily Telegraph understands that ministers will oppose the amendments when the Bill returns to the House of Commons. Matt Hancock, a Culture minister, yesterday told a media event in London that the amendments being pushed in the Lords were “unwise”.
He said: “There are some amendments being pushed which would restrict the exemptions from data protection that allow for whistle-blowing and for the use of sources.
“We think that these are unwise amendments which we’ll be resisting in the House of Lords.”
He yesterday told The Sun: “[The amendments] would stifle investigative journalism and restrict the press from exposing wrongdoing in the public interest. We all care about highquality journalism and are serious about protecting a free press in the best interest of the nation.”
Newspapers have raised concerns that signing up to an officially certified regulator could lead to state control of the media.
The only regulator that has sought Royal Charter recognition is Impress, which is largely funded by money from Max Mosley, the former Formula One boss turned privacy campaigner.
The vast majority of national and local newspapers, including The Daily Telegraph, are members of Ipso, an independent regulator which has not sought recognition.
The Bill aims to produce a strengthened data protection regime, giving individuals more control over their personal information.
However, proposals to water down the exemption for journalists mean that individuals could be able to interfere with inquiries and block the publication of stories that could expose wrongdoing.
The News Media Association last month criticised amendments to the Bill to try to restrict the freedoms of journalists, saying these “would give powerful claimants with something to hide fresh ammunition to pursue legal claims and shut down legitimate public interest investigation into their activities”.
A Labour amendment would give the Information Commissioner the power to decide whether a code of conduct is sufficient enough to allow journalistic exemptions from the data protection rules.
It would give the Information Commissioner the power to rule against a code operated by Ipso or Ofcom, which regulates the BBC and other broadcasters.
A second amendment to the Bill would rewrite the new law so that the second half of the Leveson inquiry into press standards would go ahead.
Mr Hancock also announced a commission which will research “sustainable business models for high-quality journalism”.
‘We all care about highquality journalism and are serious about protecting a free press in the best interests of the nation’