UK Media Fears that Andy Burnham Will Bring in State Press Regulation as Prime Minister
Campaigners for state regulation of journalism are optimistic that now is their time with a new PM sympathetic to their cause
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He’s not even in Number 10 yet but Andy Burnham is already causing disquiet among some ranks of the media.
And the reason is nothing to do with his plans to nationalise water or railways, or to devolve power to the regions.
Instead, it’s the old chestnut of mass media regulation that is threatening the peace. A sign of what a Burnham administration might mean for the MSM was highlighted last week in a basement meeting in Westminster, where actor and leading light of press campaign group Hacked Off Hugh Grant held court.
The mood among activists was optimistic, with the thinking being that state regulation of the media might be closer than ever if Burnham becomes PM later this month. Grant told fellow activists: “As we switch leadership of the Labour Party, switch prime ministers, there’s a chance finally to get something done.”
There is a good reason for their enthusiasm. Burnham, as we touched on last week, has said he wants to revive Leveson 2, the part of the press standards inquiry probing the relationship between journalists, the police and corporate governance failures at news organisations. In March he was reported as saying: “I haven’t given up on [Leveson part two]” and would do it “if he had the influence”.
Much of what a new inquiry would look at feels very historic now, particularly in a digital age, but a new probe would be awkward and is likely to be broadened to include the role of comms and PR and the influence they have over coverage. For communications teams, any renewed inquiry would raise questions about transparency, access, lobbying, media relations and the increasingly blurred lines between journalism, influencers and corporate communications. And that’s before the impact of AI.
There is also likely to be a push to make mainstream print and online titles come under state regulation – perhaps as part of a deal to help prioritise trusted sources of news on social media and YouTube. In the past Burnham was a proponent of Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013, legislation designed to force news publishers to join a state-backed regulator. Under the measures, publishers would have been liable to pay all legal costs in libel or privacy lawsuits, even if they won, unless they were a member of such a regulator.
Burnham’s links with press campaigners are long standing. Grant and his fellow activist actor Steve Coogan campaigned with him in the Makerfield by-election. And a key member of Burnham’s team is Anneliese Midgley MP who called for a debate about renewed allegations from the investigative journalist Nick Davies, who originally exposed the phone hacking scandal.
With judgment in the High Court case of Prince Harry and others against the Daily Mail expected within weeks, this may be the last chance for campaigners to get the prize they have long sought.
Then there’s what already seems to be a rocky relationship with the media.
