Err on side of freedom for Press, says Hague

Future regulation of the Press should “err on the side of freedom”, William Hague has warned, before Lord Justice Leveson announces his reform proposals.

The Foreign Secretary, who is MP for Richmond, dismissed suggestions that Prime Minister
David Cameron had already made up his mind to reject state regulation, pointing out that “none of us” had yet seen Lord Justice Leveson’s recommendations which are to be published on Thursday.

“Although I’m a big supporter of the freedom of the Press, I’m also a big supporter of actually reading something before you pronounce on it,” he told BBC1’s Andrew Marr Show.

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“We will have to do that, but in my case, from the philosophical viewpoint that you have to err on the side of freedom.”

Downing Street said Mr Cameron was keeping an open mind and would make no decisions before he has seen the report arising from the Leveson Inquiry which he set up in the wake of last year’s phone-hacking scandal.

And Number 10 played down any suggestion that the Prime Minister had already made up his mind on the Leveson report.

“The Prime Minister is open-minded about Lord Justice Leveson’s report and will read it in full before he makes any decision about what to do,” a spokesman said.

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The Conservative Party is divided on the issue of Press regulation – 42 Tory MPs signed a letter this month calling for the door to be kept open on some kind of statutory regulation.

But Tory MP Conor Burns yesterday said there would be another letter this week signed by even more Conservatives that would urge another shot at self-regulation.

Victims of Press intrusion are calling for an independent regulator, backed up by law, while Editors fear statutory regulation will limit Press freedom. The inquiry was commissioned following allegations of illegal phone-hacking at the News of the World.