THE freedom of the British press is at great risk.
The Government has launched a consultation on Section 40 (punitive costs) of the Crime and Courts Act. - which if it goes ahead will potentially lay open newspapers, including the Bridport & Lyme Regis News, to punitive costs should anyone choose to challenge a story that we publish.
The key to its unfairness lies in that even should a newspaper win the case - ie there is no case to answer - it would still be liable to pay the complainant’s legal costs.
IMPRESS is the regulatory body which has gained recognition through the Royal Charter and therefore has triggered the Section 40 debate - and is trying to establish itself as the replacement for the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO).
This is a real threat to our independence of publishing outside of Government control.
A new survey shows just four per cent of people think a press regulator should be funded by donations from wealthy individuals and trusts, the IMPRESS model, compared with 49 per cent who believe it should be funded by the newspaper industry itself, as the Independent Press Standards Organisation is.
IMPRESS, the state-recognised regulator for the press which not a single significant publisher has signed up to, is funded by Max Mosley.
Lynne Anderson, News Media Association deputy chief executive, said: “This survey demonstrates conclusively that a regulatory regime led by IMPRESS - which is completely reliant upon funding from one wealthy individual, Max Mosley - cannot command the confidence of the public.
ADVERTISING inRead invented by Teads “IPSO is funded in its entirety by its member national, regional and local newspaper publishers which is the funding model the public want and expect from an industry which is committed to robust self-regulation.”
“It is also abundantly clear from the poll that there is absolutely no public appetite for further activity from the Government in this area - such as the reopening of the Leveson Inquiry - when there are other much more pressing priorities at hand.”
Have your say on the consultation and help keep a free press at gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-the-leveson-inquiry-and-its-implementation
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