'Very strong public mood' for 'strict' press regulation, finds poll

More than 80 per cent of the British public are in favour of "strict" regulation of the press, a new study by the Institute for Public Policy Research has found.

The online poll, based on a weighted sample of 1,700 adults earlier this week, found that 62 per cent of respondents wanted the current self-regulatory structure administered by the Press Complaints Commission to be replaced by a legally established body.

The percentage of people in favour of "fairly strict" or "very strict" press regulation stood at 81 per cent - rising to 98 per cent among respondents over the age of 60.

Some 84 per cent of respondents supported the idea that newspapers should be required to print a correction and/or apology for incorrect stories on the same page as that story appeared, even if it is the front page.

The IPPR research also found widespread support for limits on the proportion of the media that any one individual or company can own - an idea backed by 73 per cent of participants. Almost two-thirds of people believed the limit should be set at two newspapers or less.

More than half of respondents – 55 per cent – also supported the idea of extending broadcasters' impartiality rules to cover online video content "that resembles TV news".

IPPR director Nick Pearce said in a release: "Once the Leveson Inquiry has completed its work and made its recommendations, politicians will have to make some difficult decisions on the shape and reach of media policy.

"Perhaps not surprisingly, given the hacking scandal and other revelations, this polling shows that the public mood has hardened significantly towards tighter regulation of media standards and more controls on media ownership.

"Understanding this public appetite for change, while ensuring that the UK has a free, vibrant and economically viable media, will be the challenge of the months ahead."

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