Clause 3 - Advertising: newspapers, periodicals etc
Tobacco Advertising and Promotion Bill [Lords]
11:00 am
Mr David Wilshire (Spelthorne, Conservative)
I was going to come to that once I had set out why it is important that the words ''or printer'' should be used. If a printer is included in one clause but left out of the next, which is inconsistent, lawyers would be provided with a long and expensive argument about which of those two clauses is the one to follow. Will clause 3 cover somebody who prints advertising in ''newspapers, periodicals'' and so forth? I worry every time I read ''etc.'' in legislation. All that I can see is the cash register going round for the
solicitors and barristers who will get locked into the meaning of ''etc.''.
Clause 3 does not refer to the printer. My supposition is that that would provide some sort of defence notwithstanding clause 2. If I am wrong—I am not a lawyer and there are lawyers in the Room—surely somebody will leap to their feet and say that I am worrying unnecessarily. I hope that that deals with the hon. Gentleman's point, which needs to be cleared up.
If the Government want clear and sensible law, I am surprised that they have not considered precedent. Libel law is crystal clear when a printer is involved. We all know electoral law, and despite changes to printing and publishing we still have to identify the printer. Both the printer and the candidate are caught by specific legislation if anything defamatory or untrue is put into an electoral leaflet, but there is no such specific wording in the Bill.
The obscene publications legislation is yet another example involving the printer. The law covering incitement to racial hatred would catch anybody printing such material. The Bill addresses something that, judging from some Government Members' conversations, the Government consider a social evil. However, the printer has been left out. If I were still involved in the printing industry, I would be very nervous about the confusion between clauses 2 and 3 and being the only person in the chain of publication, production and distribution who is not caught by the legislation. Pressures will be brought on the printing industry to be the loophole by which such advertisements are published. If advertisements are published abroad or the printer is not in business when they are published, the printing industry will provide a loophole that will not be covered as on offence. I shall be interested to hear why the Minister thinks that printers should be left out.