LONDON (24/7/Agencies/Pacific Media Watch): The Press Complaints Commission has “failed”, “lacks public confidence” and needs to be replaced as soon as possible, the British Prime Minister has said.
Speaking about the shock closure of the News of the World newspaper amid the telephone hacking scandal - the last edition was produced on Sunday - David Cameron told journalists at Downing Street that an independent inquiry would be set up this summer with the aim of creating a replacement for the PCC.
Cameron added that the press and politicians of all sides had “been in this together” and the relationship between politics and the press had to change. It was on “his watch” that this had to happen.
He confirmed a judge would lead a public inquiry into the hacking allegations once the police investigation was over, but a second inquiry would look at the culture and ethics of the press.
In the wake of a series of phone hacking revelations this week, Cameron said: ” The actions of journalists have been disgusting. I cannot think of what was going through the minds of people who were doing this. It is truly despicable.
“But this is not just about the press, it is about the police and how politics works.
“A judge will be in charge of public inquiry. Why did the first police investigation [into phone hacking] fail so abysmally? We will consult now on what we can get started now, even though it can’t start until the police investigation is over. No stone will be left unturned.
Ethics culture inquiry
“A second inquiry, ideally to start this summer, will be a truly independent examination of the culture and ethics of the press. It will look at how newspapers are regulated and give recommendations for the future.
“Press freedom does not mean journalists are above the law. The PCC has failed. In this case it was absent, ineffective and lacking in rigour. It lacks public confidence. We need a new system entirely.”
“The truth is we have all been in this together – including me. We have not gripped this issue. Party leaders were so keen to win support we turned a blind eye to bad practices. Like MPs expenses, we knew it wasn’t right, but didn’t do anything until the mess was revealed. The relationship needs to be different in future.”
Cameron added that the decision over whether Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation could fully take over BSkyB must follow the proper legal processes.
Meanwhile, speaking about his former communications director Andy Coulson, who was editor of the News of the World during the first revelations of phone hacking five years ago, the prime minister said he took full responsibility for the decision to hire him. He added that current News International chief executive Rebekah Brooke’s resignation should have been accepted yesterday.
Coulson was arrested and his computer seized.
The News of the World was sacrificed yesterday afternoon after a series of increasingly damaging allegations left its reputation in tatters.
James Murdoch, chairman of publishers News International, said the 168-year history of Britain’s best-selling newspaper would come to an end with this weekend's final edition.
The bombshell came as advertisers deserted the News of the World in droves and police revealed 4000 people may have had their phones hacked by the tabloid.
The Royal British Legion dropped the News of the World as its campaigning partner and expressed “revulsion” at allegations that war widows’ phones may have been hacked.
Pacific Media Watch
