PCC and Ofcom to appear before Leveson inquiry

Representatives of media industry regulators, including the Press Complaints Commission, Ofcom and the Advertising Standards Agency will appear before the Leveson inquiry this week.

According to the latest witness list, from Monday (30 January) the inquiry into the ethics of the press will see appearances from the director of the PCC Stephen Abell and the new chair of the commission Lord Hunt.

Lord Hunt, who took over as chair of the PCC last year, was tasked with pulling together proposals for a reformed structure of the commission. The inquiry will also hear evidence from former chair Sir Christopher Meyer.

While the first two days will be dedicated to evidence from the PCC, Wednesday will see chairman of broadcast regulator Ofcom Colette Bowe and chief executive Ed Richards give their evidence.

Last week Richards gave a speech to the Oxford Media Convention in which he suggested a "coherent approach" to regulation and "core set of principals" could be established between the Press Complaints Commission, the BBC and Ofcom, which would require video on demand to comply with a joint code.

This suggestion, which forms part of his "initial thoughts on the future of media regulation", would oversee issues such as accuracy, privacy and the protection of young people. But he stressed that he does not believe in one "super regulator".

During an evidence session held by the inquiry last week, Lord Justice Leveson similarly discussed whether it would be "sensible" and in the public interest for a "common set of standards" in relation to print and digital media.

In conversation with Camilla Wright, co-founder of website PopBitch, who was giving evidence at the time, Lord Leveson said: "Applying it from your point of view might lead to a slightly different result because of the way you'll tell a story, but it doesn't necessarily mean there shouldn't be a common standard."

Earlier in the first module of his inquiry, Lord Leveson told news organisations his references to regulation models or approaches should not be reported as "emerging findings" of the inquiry.

"I'm not committing myself to anything, I have to hear everybody’s views," he said at the time.

During PopBitch's evidence last week, Lord Leveson asked for Wright's view on whether she would find it "valuable" to have "somebody with experience in the field of journalism who you can pick up the phone to and call".

"You won't necessarily be bound by that, but just to have that advisory, to be alert when somebody has complained and is concerned about the risk of harassment, so that you know when that's happening, so that you're aware of it," he said.

Leveson also asked how she would feel about "an arbitral system of some sort, available to you if somebody wants to make a fuss, which you can resolve without having to go to extremely expensive lawyers".

"So that's the sort of construct that I'm thinking about. Now, whether it's made to be binding or whether it is in some sense consensual is one of the big issues ... But the critical thing is that everybody is involved.

"There can't be different people shooting off in different directions, because that doesn't lend for balance, or indeed fairness in the public interest.

"I'm not trying to sell you something which I haven't yet formulated in my mind, but I am asking you to consider, in the light of all that I've said, what you think about those ideas ... So that's the general idea, without committing myself to anything, and without committing you to anything."

Updated on Monday 30 January

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