A group of national publishers have today submitted an application to the high court for a judicial review into the privy council’s decision earlier this month that saw it reject the press industry’s plans for independent self-regulation.
Various industry bodies, including the Newspaper Publishers Association and the Professional Publishers Association, have submitted the application through PressBof.
In April 2013, the newspaper and magazine industry submitted an application to the privy council for a royal charter to establish an independent “Recognition Panel” to oversee applications for the recognition of a “self regulatory system of press regulation”. The application was rejected by a committee of the privy council on 8th October, prompting outcry from the industry.
A statement released on Thursday, delivered by trade body The Newspaper Society, said:
“Given the critical importance to a free society of the issues involved in the granting of a Charter on this subject, which goes to the very heart of press freedom and the right of free expression, it was vital that the consideration of this application be undertaken fairly and rationally.
“After studying the matter closely, it is the clear view of the industry’s trade associations, which submitted the Charter through the Press Standards Board of Finance, that the application was not dealt with fairly, that the press had a right to be consulted which the Government and the privy council failed to do, and that the procedures deployed were irrational.”
The various bodies representing the press believe that the decision and the subsequent order were unlawful, and are applying to the high court for judicial review in the hope to have the decision quashed.
Lord Black of Brentwood, chairman of the Press Standards Board of Finance, the industry body which funds the regulatory system, added: “The decision by the Government and the privy council on this matter has enormous ramifications for free speech both here in the UK, and – because of our leadership role in the Commonwealth and developing world – across the globe.
“The Government and the privy council should have applied the most rigorous standards of consultation and examination of the royal charter proposed by the industry, which would have enshrined tough regulatory standards at the same time as protecting press freedom. They singularly failed to do so, and that is why – as the issues at stake are so extraordinarily high – we are having to take this course of action.”
Meanwhile, the body that brings together UK news and magazine publishers, The Industry Implementation Group, is today pushing ahead with the final set of plans for the establishment of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO).
The announcement comes after a series of consultations across the industry, involving lawyers and senior editorial representatives covering hundreds of publications.
The final plans, which the group says the vast majority of publishers have indicated they are committed, are contained in a series of legal documents, totalling over 80 pages, which will be published on a dedicated website, www.ipso.co.uk.
