Telephone Hacking — Question

Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 11:06 am on 6 April 2011.

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Photo of Lord Wallace of Saltaire Lord Wallace of Saltaire Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip) 11:06, 6 April 2011

My Lords, on reading the newspapers this morning, I wondered whether the noble Lord has the power of the curse of Gnome, given that every time he puts down a Question in this House something moves in the investigation. He raises some broad questions about the future relationship between the press and politics and it is fair to say that we will need to return to those questions once current investigations are complete. The relationship between the press and the Government rests on the idea that a free press in a democracy is free but should be responsible-just as bankers in a free market ask for light regulation, with the expectation that they will also behave responsibly. Newspapers, like bankers, have not always been as responsible in relation to their obligations as they might have been in recent years.