Leveson Report

Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at on 4 December 2012.

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Photo of Patricia Ferguson Patricia Ferguson Labour

That is one of the matters that has to be discussed more with the regulatory body, but Mr Stevenson makes a valid point. That discussion must be had with the smaller titles because, as my colleague Kezia Dugdale pointed out, it is very difficult for them to operate in the current economic situation without taking that further step. I accept the point that Mr Stevenson makes.

We have heard the Conservatives express the same concerns that have been expressed at Westminster, but I truly believe that they should think again. The Conservatives seem to argue that the stumbling block for them is the underpinning by statute of the new regulatory body, but surely Lord Leveson has exercised a particularly light touch there, as the system’s independence would be enshrined in statute, and the regulatory body would ensure that the self-regulator remained independent.

Scottish Labour does not support state control of the press. We do not think that politicians should meddle with the content of newspapers. We are clear that a free, probing and irreverent press is essential to democracy and should be able to hold the powerful to account. However, the press must not abuse its own power; nor must it victimise the defenceless and the vulnerable. Leveson’s proposals allow a system of regulation that is independent of politicians as well as the press.

Lord Leveson has also helpfully suggested some carrots to try to help to maintain the proportionality of his proposals and to encourage acceptance by the media—that is to the good. The First Minister wants us to commit to having a separate system in Scotland. We do not believe that the case has been made for a separate system and we genuinely hope that the First Minister will not close his mind to the arguments that have been put to him. Many of the titles that would be covered by a Scottish regulator operate in the rest of the UK too, so how does it help to have a system in Scotland that is separate from the system in the rest of the UK?