Hacked Off, NUJ and Media Standards Trust discuss press regulation with Lords Committee
In a bumper day of evidence sessions, the House of Lords Communications Committee will next week hear from Hacked Off, the Regulatory Funding Company, the Media Standards Trust and the National Union of Journalists, in its bid to discover the current state of play on press regulation.
In the first session, at 3.30pm, the Committee will hear from the following representatives from Hacked Off:
- Hugh Tomlinson QC, media law barrister and Chairman;
- Joan Smith, phone hacking victim and Executive Director; and
- Dr Evan Harris, Associate Director.
The witnesses are likely to face questions from the Committee on issues including:
- events leading up to the creation of Hacked Off, and the organisation's funding arrangements;
- its assessment of the recommendations made by the Leveson report, as well as the interpretation of those recommendations;
- their opinion of the new regulators, IMPRESS and IPSO, and whether they will bring about any change in the current situation for their representatives;
Following on, at 4.10pm, the Committee will hear from Paul Vickers, Chairman of the Regulatory Funding Company (RFC). It will question Mr Vickers on the RFC's relationship to IPSO and the independence of the RFC. It will also ask for clarification on the scope and ownership of the Editors' Code of Practice.
Finally, at 4.40pm, the Committee will question Martin Moore, Director of the Media Standards Trust, and Professor Chris Frost, Chair of the National Union of Journalists' Ethics Council.
The witnesses are likely to be questioned on areas including their assessment of IPSO and IMPRESS and their opinion on how clear the current process is for someone wishing to make a complaint against a newspaper. They will also be asked about the impact of membership of IPSO on the local press, and whether they are concerned about the potential costs of arbitration for local and regional press.
The evidence sessions will be held on Tuesday 27 January at 3:30pm in Committee Room 2 of the House of Lords.
The session will be webcast at www.parliamentlive.tv and is also open to the public. Journalists wishing to attend should go to Parliament's Cromwell Green Entrance and should allow time for security screening.
