A poor proposal

I DON'T know what qualifications the Labour MP Ivan Lewis has for his role as shadow Culture Secretary but they are unlikely to include any first-hand experience of the press or understanding of the importance of its cherished freedom of speech. On Tuesday Mr Lewis unveiled proposals to make the press more accountable following the phone-hacking scandal, one of which was for regulations that would require the press “to consider whether people guilty of gross malpractice should be struck off as in other professions.” Perhaps Mr Lewis did not intend to suggest some form of licensing for journalists but if so he should have chosen his words more carefully. Another suggestion of his that “apologies and retractions of mistakes and falsehoods” should be given front-page treatment indicates how his mind is working.

Now the Levenson inquiry on journalistic standards has started it is important that all attacks on the freedom of the press should be jumped on quickly. The fact that just recently the Metropolitan Police tried to charge a reporter under the Official Secrets Act for refusing to reveal the source of her information on phone-hacking shows that even an organisation able to call on expert legal advice can choose to put pressure on the press.

Fortunately, the Met saw the error of its ways after several newspapers protested in leading articles.