Newspaper round-up: Leveson
With the Leveson report due for publication this afternoon, the speculation and debate still rages on. Here’s a round-up of what the papers are saying.
None of the tabloids made Leveson front page news today, but The Sun – sure to be criticised in Leveson’s report – carries a couple of spreads from page eight outlining its stance staunchly opposing statutory regulation.
Dragging in a number of well-known names to make their case for them, from Katie Price to Boris Johnson, the Murdoch owned red top says: “Ever since Lord Leveson began his inquiry, The Sun has warned how State control would destroy free speech – a freedom millions died to protect.
“It would be absurd to censor papers while the internet operates unrestricted. As Jordan says, a new law will just send everyone online.”
Meanwhile, the Daily Mirror’s editor-in-chief, Lloyd Embley, makes similar remarks with the headline: “Press control: Do you want to be the man who destroys the essence of free speech, Mr Cameron?”
Embley goes on to say: “Do the public really want Parliament to be responsible for policing our papers? What about Facebook? What about Twitter? As we’ve seen already, it’s the Wild West compared to newspapers.”
Over at The Times (Pay-wall), there is more interest in their competitor’s investment woes, with the front-page headline “Independent seeks help as Leveson reports.”
Referring to Russian billionaire Alexander Lebedev, who owns both The Independent and the Evening Standard, the paper says he told them that he forecasts continuing losses, prompting him to seek out a minority partner.
The Independent meanwhile runs with a front page headline announcing that the “Coalition braces for split over Leveson as Brooks and Coulson face court,” while the Guardian’s front page runs with: “PM and Clegg at odds over Leveson as D-day dawns.”
Page one of The Daily Telegraph runs with a short piece saying that Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, is threatening to defy David Cameron by making his own parliamentary statement on the report, “a move that could plunge the Coalition into crisis.”
Inside, the paper reports that former Cabinet minister Peter Lilley is warning that victims of press harassment should not be given the chance to rewrite the laws on press freedom.
Click here to view all of today’s national front pages.