No statutory regulation needed, insists Hislop

Private Eye editor Ian Hislop yesterday told the Leveson inquiry that no new laws are needed to ensure good media practice, insisting that current ones just needed to be enforced.

“I do think that statutory regulation is not required,” said Hislop. “Most of the heinous crimes that came up and have made such a splash in front of this inquiry have already been illegal.

“Contempt of court is illegal, phone-tapping is illegal, policemen taking money is illegal. All of these things don’t need a code, we already have laws for them.

“The fact that these laws were not rigorously enforced is again due to the failure of the police, the interaction of the police and News International – and let’s be honest about this, the fact that our politicians have been very, very involved in ways that I think are not sensible with senior News International people.”

Looking at the industry broadly, he stressed the importance of making it “easier and cheaper” to sue newspapers for libel and criticised sections of the press for its coverage of the Leveson inquiry itself, reserving his ire particularly for Richard Desmond, “the worst example, obviously” of a proprietor, whose newspapers had not even mentioned the appearances of Desmond or its editors in Leveson’s dock. (Source: Press Gazette)

Times editor: we should have covered hacking ‘harder, earlier’

Times editor James Harding has told the Leveson inquiry that his newspaper – a News International stablemate of the defunct News of the World – should have covered the issue of phone hacking “harder, earlier”, saying that its approach “fundamentally changed” after the revelation that Milly Dowler’s phone had been targeted.

The paper went on to strongly criticise its owner’s handling of the affair and Harding insisted it “never raised a finger to stop us doing so”.

Harding also revealed that he turned down the chance to buy the data used by the Daily Telegraph in the MPs’ expenses scandal, as the paper had a general policy of not paying for stories. It was decided not to make an exception as a public interest defence would “not be necessarily” strong enough on that occasion. (Source: Press Gazette)

Brown’s bank blagged

Sunday Times editor John Witherow confirmed an allegation by Abbey National that someone from the newspaper had phoned the bank impersonating Gordon Brown to obtain information. He said the use of subterfuge was justified in the public interest as the paper believed the then Chancellor (in 2000) had purchased a flat below market value from a company owned by the late media baron Robert Maxwell.

Witherow said the paper only used subterfuge in the public interest, but never “fishing expeditions”. Looking at the relationship with politicians, he said people from his paper met with them from “time to time” but rarely got extra information compared to on-the-record interviews. (Source: Press Gazette)

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