Press freedom is hanging by a thread in Britain, but no one is talking about it. On Wednesday, the House of Commons will vote on the Data Protection Bill, and Labour MPs have added amendments to it that would effectively end 300 years of press freedom in Britain 1/10
Since the Leveson Inquiry, journalists have been hauled before courts on spurious charges only to be acquitted. A state-approved regulator, Impress, has been set up for the first time since 1695. But no newspaper -- even those that cheered on Leveson -- will sign up to it. 2/10
So the press-regulation lobby has been pushing for Section 40, a law that would force all publications to sign up to a state-backed regulator. If they refuse, as they should, they’d be required to pay the legal costs of any case brought against them, even if they win. 3/10
This would effectively invite anyone with an axe to grind to launch suits aimed at shutting down publications they dislike. This is an opportunity that the rich, powerful and corrupt, people who have been exposed and shamed by the press, will take in a heartbeat. 4/10
The government opened a consultation on press freedom in 2016, asking members of the public if Section 40 should be passed, and if the second part of the Leveson Inquiry should commence. Out of a huge 174,730 responses, 79% said NO to Section 40 and 66% said NO to Leveson 2. 5/10
But the anti-press lobby pushed on regardless. Unelected lords added amendments to the Data Protection Bill that would have snuck in Section 40 and Leveson 2 through the backdoor. MPs voted them down. But Tom Watson and Ed Miliband have now tabled similar amendments. 6/10
Some claim there are protections for smaller publications. This is untrue. Analysis suggests 85% of local papers would still be affected, as would most online media. Publications would be forced to sign up to regulation, close down or wait for a suit to close them down. 7/10
This is what MPs are voting on, on Wednesday. They are voting on whether the centuries-long battle for press freedom should be betrayed. Since Leveson, the UK has fallen to 40th in the international press freedom index -- if these measures pass, we’ll tumble further. 8/10
The public do not want this. They recognise that the campaign for press regulation was never about helping victims of press intrusion, it was about politicians, celebs and millionaires using them as human shields to silence the press that holds them to account. 9/10
We have until Wednesday to save the press. Email or write to your MP. Insist that they vote down these illiberal amendments. Make noise about it. Don’t let politicians get away with slipping this in through the backdoor. We must #FreeThePress 10/10
