Lords vote on tighter rules for press comes under fire
PRIME MINISTER Theresa May has said the Government will overturn House of Lords votes for tighter regulation of the media.
Peers inflicted a double defeat on the Government’s Data Protection Bill on Wednesday, passing two amendments to tackle alleged media abuses and backing the launch of the second phase of the Leveson Inquiry into press standards.
But Culture Secretary Matt Hancock said the proposed changes would be a “hammer blow” to the local press and quickly made clear he would seek to overturn the changes in the elected House of Commons.
Answering questions following a speech in London, Mrs May said: “I think that the impact of this vote would undermine highquality journalism and a free press. I think it would particularly have a negative impact on local newspapers, which are an important underpinning of our democracy. I believe passionately in a free press. We want to have a free press that is able to hold politicians and others to account and we will certainly be looking to overturn this vote in the House of Commons.”
Following a lengthy and impassioned debate on Wednesday, the House of Lords voted for an investigation to be held into alleged data protection breaches by the media. Supporters of the move argued it was needed amid claims of ongoing press abuses while opponents said it amounted to “harassment” of the media.
The unelected chamber also backed a controversial measure which would see newspapers which are not signed up to a statesupported regulator pay their own and their opponent’s legal costs in relation to alleged data protection breaches, even if they were successful. The Government argued the amendments were not appropriate given the head of the original independent inquiry, Sir Brian Leveson, was reviewing responses to the Government’s consultation on a second inquiry into the conduct of the British press.