Richard Drax, MP for South Dorset, today defended the press against attempts to include punitive measures for phone hacking in the Investigatory Powers Bill.
Speaking during the examination of Lords’ amendments on the Bill, Drax said, “it is extraordinary that we are talking about the press when the Bill is actually about the security of our country. Lords’ amendment 15 is clearly in the wrong Bill.”
“In the six years that I have had the privilege of representing South Dorset, I have noticed that the decisions made in this place are often knee-jerk, made to satisfy a public reaction that has nowadays often been fed by Facebook or Twitter, to which too many of us react too quickly”
“I suspect that, over a period of time, many sensible people in this place...have come to think that we cannot use the state to interfere with the freedom of the press in this country. “
“As a former journalist of some 17 years, I was shocked when only 14 of us in this House voted against the Royal Charter all those years ago, and I questioned whether democracy was at risk.”
In response to calls for the Culture Secretary to activate section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act, 2013, which would impose punitive damages on newspapers refusing to join the recognised press regulator, Drax added, “It is mainly Opposition Members who are making this point, and I remind them again that phone hacking is already illegal. It is a criminal offence and people who commit that offence go to jail... local newspapers, which had nothing to do with the scandal that occurred in a very small minority of the major newspapers, fear that if they have to pay costs despite even winning their case, they will have to close down and they will not be able to challenge those who should be challenged.”
Drax’s comments came days after Impress, funded by Max Mosely, was confirmed as the first independent press regulator by the Press Recognition Panel. The overwhelming majority of media outlets have chosen instead to join IPSO, the Independent Press Standards Organisation.
Yesterday’s Lords’ amendments were voted down by a majority of 37 votes.