Bill Carmichael: Stitch-up over free speech

WHEN the Putin stooges at the Kremlin-funded Russia Today newspaper describe new proposals for state control of the UK media as a “threat to press freedom”, you know you are in serious trouble.

The Leveson report was bad, but the current dog’s breakfast, stitched together in the early hours by the main political parties acting under the direction of the undemocratic, unaccountable celebrity group Hacked Off, is 1,000 times worse.

Forget the spin; what we have here is state licensing of the media, and the last time we had that was in 1695. Claims that membership of the new regulatory body will be “voluntary” are risible. If news organisations – and for the first time that will include websites and small blogs – don’t join, they will be hit by exemplary damages that could put them out of business.

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This is particularly damaging for regional newspapers like the Yorkshire Post, which were entirely blameless in the whole hacking scandal. Leveson actually went out of his way to praise the regional press and exempt it from criticism. But local newspapers will be caught up in the giant new regulatory bureaucracy and forced to pay for it. They will be subject to frivolous and vexatious accusations that can be brought at no cost to the accuser.

Astonishingly, even if the newspaper wins the case and is found to be entirely blameless, it could be forced to pay all the costs. Even worse, the politicians decided it was high time that they tried to regulate the internet – not just in the UK but also around the globe. This wasn’t in Leveson’s proposals, in fact the judge hardly mentioned the internet at all. He was wise enough to leave well alone.

But our thickheaded politicians have blundered in, decreeing that any websites carrying “news-related material” must also come under state control.

This is beyond absurd. The politicians simply don’t know what they are doing. At one point earlier this week when Downing Street was asked if the regulations included Twitter, the utterly priceless answer was: “We don’t know.”

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Potentially the new state licensing system could include everything from the New York Times to Private Eye to Mumsnet.

This is an establishment stitch-up. No wonder that politicians from all parties were slapping each on the back in celebration on Monday night. They had finally gained their revenge for the embarrassment of the expenses scandal. The rich and famous are happy too. They are delighted they can turn on the tap of publicity when they have a film or book to sell, and then switch it off again when they get caught with their trousers around their ankles.

And the losers? Well certainly the regional press and the kind of public-spirited investigative journalism for which this newspaper has rightly become renowned. Add to the casualty list the internet innovators and independent bloggers.

But the biggest victim is Britain’s once cherished 300-year tradition of freedom of speech.

Cash culprits

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In Cyprus the banks are closed until next Tuesday, and may never reopen unless yet another massive bailout is agreed.

Cash machines are running out of money and some retailers are refusing to accept credit card payments. Meanwhile the British Government was forced to fly out one million euros in cash to ensure service personnel have enough money to live on.

This is a country on the brink of total societal collapse and the cost in terms of ruined lives, collapsed businesses and blighted futures is incalculable.

Let’s remind ourselves who are to blame – the Euro-fanatics who were prepared to destroy democracy and impoverish an entire continent in a doomed attempt to create a United States of Europe.

We should never forget, nor forgive.

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