PRESS REGULATION AND SECTION 40

Early day motion 844, tabled 10 January 2017 by Anne Main (Conservative). Signed by 8 members.

That this House notes the significant consequences for local, regional and national publications if the Government was to commence section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013; recognises that the state should have no role in regulating publications; believes that the commencement of section 40 would curtail the freedom of the press in the UK by creating a chilling effect on journalism and would stifle investigative journalism; further notes that the commencement of section 40 would be an attempt to oblige publishers to sign up to a state-approved regulator or face leaving defendants liable for their own and the plaintiff's legal costs, even if they were vindicated in court, which is an anathema to British justice; is therefore concerned about the potential for an increase of spurious levels of legal action against publishers; notes that the self-regulatory body, the Independent Press Standards Organisation, currently regulates over 90 per cent of the UK's press and is underpinned by contract law; and notes that the terms of reference of Part 2 of the Leveson Inquiry have already been covered by Part 1 and the criminal investigations, and believes that revisiting the same cases risks undermining the courts' verdicts and would be costly to the taxpayer.

Signatures by party: Conservative 6, Labour 1, Scottish National Party 1.