UK press regulation is a matter of freedom

so says City AM editor Allister Heath in today's editorial, commenting on the press regulatory deal between two three parties that pay lip-service to freedom.  It is an editorial that points out very clearly what is wrong and the more fundamental philosophical point.

He's right.  It is worth reading his entire editorial, as he points out that the abuses by the press were illegal, the real issue was enforcement and corruption of the Police who colluded with the press on these actions (and the proposed law does not touch the Police, funnily enough).  

When you consider the reality and truth evasion that is part and parcel of contemporary politics, and the hyperbolic partisanship expressed by the Labour Party on this issue, it ought to send shivers down the spines of anyone who claims to be liberal minded. He says consensus in politics is a disaster, primarily because it means something has been surrendered.   He says:

few people would support cartels in business, so why are cartels of politicians so often welcomed? Ideological and political competition is just as important as commercial competition

Indeed, moreso.  I am far more threatened by a political monopoly, than having only one company selling a product that I am not forced to buy.

Heath says that it is "the thickish end of an enormous wedge, the first time since 1695 that newspapers will be subject to statutory regulation", noting that it is unclear whether the provisions are compatible with Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights, protecting freedom of speech

UKIP members and supporters, and indeed freedom loving Conservative might be given pause to consider their usual antipathy towards this piece of international law, that was born not from Brussels, but the Helsinki Accords, which opened the first crack onto the totalitarianism of the Soviet bloc in 1975.

Heath points out that the first amendment to the US Constitution would ensure that such a law would never occur, because it would be blatantly unconstitutional.  Constitutional monarchists and other defenders of the "unwritten" British "constitution" would be wise to consider this as well.

The Labour Party has chosen to make this an almost class oriented, even mildly xenophobic war on Rupert Murdoch, presumably for spurning Gordon Brown in 2000.   It pointedly focuses on his newspapers, ignoring those of other proprietors equally guilty of breaking the law and engaging in unethical behaviour.  To be so blatantly partisan about one set of newspapers should have meant it was shut out of any discussions on this matter.  You can't negotiate with a political party which is driven by political vengeance.  It is in itself a threat to freedom of speech, and its record in government is not glowing on this issue.  You can be sure that if the Sun and the Times had warmly embraced Gordon Brown and Ed Miliband, a very different stance would be taken by Labour.

It has, of course, been working hand in foot with the Hacked Off campaign, a clever campaign, led by the charismatic and generally well loved Hugh Grant, with a leftwing agenda based on attacking the press for pursuing profit and commercialism, among other things (as if the contributors to that campaign work for free).     It has seconded victims of press criminality to harness their anger (few would sympathise with wealthy celebrities who get caught breaking the law) and garner public sympathy. 

The Liberal Democrats have a strong proud tradition (as the Liberal Party) of being scrupulous on these issues, but have been star struck by the Hacked Off campaign, and has continued to sell out principles it once would hold high.  It ought to drop the "Liberal" moniker once and for all, and replace it with "social" or some other insipid homely to distinguish itself as the socialist party that isn't aligned with the union movement.

Most disgusting though is how the Prime Minister has surrendered principle for political peace.  Not only did he let Hacked Off participate in discussions between the three main parties about press regulation (with the press excluded), he decided he's rather silence the braying mob and his political opponents by, in substance if not in form, agreeing with them.

Conservative MPs who hold freedom dear should cross the floor in disgust, indeed I cannot understand why such MPs who, if it were Gordon Brown proposing such legislation, would fight tooth and nail to oppose it, will tolerate David Cameron leading them anymore.  What freedom supporter in good conscience can now back a Conservative MP who will support this legislation, when the Socialist Democrats and Labour are all one and the same?  Even Dr Sarah Wollaston MP who stood up for free speech in the House of Commons yesterday is a vibrant advocate of minimum priced alcohol.  Most of those who speak of freedom always have a "but not here" in their pet area of control.  

UKIP, of course, has a golden opportunity to lead on this issue by principle.

Heath hits it on the nose with the core issue - freedom.  The public simply don't care.

 "part of the problem is that we have fallen out of love with freedom.  The public supports snooping, paternalism, curtailing civil liberties and endless regulation.  Many have no problem with the state dictating how much people can be paid and telling people what they can eat or drink, and what they can do with their property.  We may recoil in horror at the proposed state looting of bank accounts in Cyprus - but most Brits support wealth taxes.  Freedom , ultimately is indivisible; the only reason why regulation of the media didn't happen any sooner was because newspapers were too influential.  Now that their power is waning, they are fair game, like everything and everybody else"

and it is that, ladies and gentlemen, that is the problem.

David Cameron, Nick Clegg and maybe even Ed Miliband, will do more than pay lip-service to freedom when people demand it.  For they are all and the same pragmatists whose key objective is to win and retain power.  

You have to let them all know that your freedoms are not fair game anymore.  Most of the newspapers are going to fight this, it is time you got behind those MPs who will fight it too.  This isn't a left-right issue.   

Index on Censorship has come out against it, you should too.   Cameron, Clegg and Miliband deserve your anger.

Cameron concedes to the left's war on private media

Let's be clear.  Some journalists broke the law.  

The McCann's sued for libel and won a six-figure sum, because of what the Daily Star and Express printed (although Portuguese press were far less generous).  Phone hacking of Milly Dowler's phone was utterly vile, particularly because Police knew about it and did nothing, yet her were allegedly offered a seven figure settlement.  Those acts, trespass and theft are all illegal.  There are means to address this.  Where the press broke the law, the issue is not a lack of law, but the unwillingness of the Police to enforce it.

So the Leveson inquiry was undertaken, and a lobby group was built up around demanding press regulation.  Its leading front man was Hugh Grant, whose main complaint against the press was he was caught receiving oral sex from a prostitute.  However, that campaign, "Hacked Off" soon turned into a parody of itself.  There was a strong undercurrent of specific prejudice against Rupert Murdoch and by inference his newspapers (The Sun and The Times).   Leftwing politicians jumped on board, with the Labour Party playing the same game.  It became war against one newspaper group, not the dominant media outlet in the UK by any means of course - that's the state broadcaster that criminalises anyone who doesn't pay for it - the BBC.

After Lord Leveson produced his report, which notably gave scant attention to online media, including blogs and social media (which was partially a blessing, but spoke volumes about his ability to really take a strategic view of where media regulation fits into a world where anyone can be the media, with very little effort), the Prime Minister's first reaction was to support a new industry established regulator, but not one established by statute.

Then came out the wolves.  Nothing focused Labour politicians, and to a lesser extent Liberal Democrats, so much as to paint the whole issue as a simple one of bashing the Murdoch press.  It went like this.

- Newspapers are bad, some journalists did bad things, you can't trust them, they can't control themselves (unlike the beloved state owned BBC you're all made to pay for, which you all love, of course).

- Newspapers are owned by people who only want to make money and don't care what happens to the people they hurt.  Especially Rupert Murdoch.  He's bad (not because he doesn't support us anymore, no, never).

- There are so many victims we have to stand up for.  Blank out their own successful lawsuits.  Blank out the Police connivance with these practices, because people like the Police.

- The Conservatives are in bed with the Murdoch press, probably so they can hurt the poor, enrich themselves and their friends, ruin the economy and win elections.

-  There needs to be a new law to control the press, to stop it printing bad things and doing bad things (that are already illegal).

-  A new law can guarantee newspapers can print what they like, except what the regulator will say is wrong.  That wont reduce what newspapers will print.  It guarantees what we call "free speech".

David Cameron, to his credit, fought this.  He supported the press coming together and creating a new independent industry-managed supervisory entity, that was not a creature of statute.  Meanwhile, Hugh Grant and his friends wouldn't let go, hand in hand with Labour, implying the government was just an arm of Rupert Murdoch's empire.

Finally, the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Labour entered "all party" talks to reach a compromise, after Hacked Off had already been outed for having threatened senior Labour MPs with a press release that would excoriate them for being gutless.

However, Hugh Grant need not have bothered, the spinelessness resides in Number 10.  For David Cameron has caved in to accept "a little legislation", and while the parties were negotiating, the Hacked Out lobbyists were in the room with them.  No think tanks, lobbyists or other interests were allowed.  Apparently the transparency Hacked Off advocates doesn't apply to its own backroom deals with politicians, that affect not only an entire industry, but laws that bind us all.

What is the UK to get?

- A new law to underpin "Royal Charters";

- A Royal Charter to create a "recognition body" to oversee a press regulator;

- The Royal Charter will require two-thirds of MPs and peers to amend it (and presumably repeal it);

- The law to implement this will be a small amendment to the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill, one that is already being used to set up a "green investment boondoggle bank" (so not drafted in haste is it now?);

- Newspapers that don't join up, will be liable for exemplary damages if a claim is upheld against them, as the Crime and Courts Bill is amended to do this (along with setting up a national crime agency);

- Newspapers could be fined up to £1 million and directed to publish apologies, on the front page if necessary;

- Newspapers could be directed to "leave people alone", whatever that means.  Is it different from court orders against harassment?

- Alleged victims will have a complaints system they can pursue without going to court.   There will be no costs at all, to complain, regardless of whether one wins or lose.  Consider how many politicians, celebrities and nutcases will now abuse it.

- The Royal Charter states it covers "websites that provide news-related material, published in the United Kingdom", whatever that means.  Presumably I'm doing that right now, maybe if I published it on my New Zealand blog it wouldn't count.

So a new system has been proposed, by all three main political parties.  No discussion paper, no single piece of legislation, but a patchwork of bills currently going through Parliament getting amended to push this through quickly.

It theoretically means someone can complain, today, about your blog, twitter account or whatever, and you'll pay the costs to respond to it, and they will pay nothing.

Consider that existing law, made it nigh on impossible for the press to seriously investigate and publish allegations about deceased BBC superstar and serial sex offender Jimmy Savile.

What should happen?

The braying crowd should be ignored.  

Freedom of speech does not require a law.   It could do with a written constitution to strike out law, but it doesn't need a statute.  Indeed it is defined by not having a law.   There aren't laws to enable me to live my life the way I wish.  Freedom is like that.  It only needs laws to stop people.

The press may wish to set up a new supervisory body that newspapers can choose to sign up to, that can be the gold standard for press ethics.  However, nobody should be forced to do that.

Media is changing, fast.  The UK has some of the world's toughest laws on defamation, and as newspaper circulation numbers continue to drop, amateur journalism continues to grow, as individuals write what they wish.   

Despite the rhetoric of some on the far left, the Murdoch press is not dominant.  The Sun sells well, but no newspaper in the UK has anything remotely like the penetration of the BBC.  2 million read the Sun, but 9.3 million watch the BBC News channel in the UK and 5.46 million watch a single BBC late news broadcast.

However, this was never about dominance. 

It was always ostensibly about "justice for the victims", but many of them have successfully won lawsuits or substantial settlements.  

What it really has been about is settling scores.  For certain celebrities to exercise power their money hasn't been able to buy (or rather it has through lobbying) and for politicians to exercise power and point score.

So we'll see, we'll see what happens when the first blog is subject to a complaint, when two-thirds of politicians amend the Royal Charter to "professionalise" journalism, of all kinds.

For me, I'll await to see if UKIP has the courage to say no to any of this, not that it will make any difference.  The Conservative Party has surrendered press freedom to avoid taking flak from Hugh Grant and Ed Miliband.

May as well be governed by Labour.