Media Council Oppose UK Government Proposal

The working group of the Media Council of Bermuda, which is made up of print and broadcast media, have expressed their opposition to the British government’s plans to create a Royal Charter to regulate the press in the the wake of the Leveson inquiry.

“The proposals have serious implications for press freedom in the UK and would send the wrong message to countries in other parts of the Commonwealth, particularly newer democracies,” said a statement from the Media Council.

The Leveson Inquiry is a judicial public inquiry into the practices of the British press following the News of the World phone hacking scandal. The majority of the British newspaper industry has rejected the Government proposed Royal Charter on the regulation of the press and put forward its own plan.

The full statement from the Media Council is below:

The Media Council of Bermuda wishes to express in the strongest possible terms its opposition to proposals put forward by the UK government in the wake of the Leveson inquiry to regulate the press.

The proposals have serious implications for press freedom in the UK and would send the wrong message to countries in other parts of the Commonwealth, particularly newer democracies.

The Media Council of Bermuda was established two years ago by media companies in response to a proposal by our then Premier to create a government-run press regulator. We can only guess at the chilling effect of a government-controlled press council on the local media had Parliament approved the original proposal. Press councils free of government involvement are the only way to go.

Having kept abreast of recent debates in the UK about the role of media and the government, we can only express our support to the counter proposal put forward by the newspaper industry and reiterate our opposition to the government’s plans to create a Royal Charter to regulate the press.

We would remind the UK government that notwithstanding the excesses of some journalists, such as those that led to the creation of the Leveson inquiry in the first place, a press free of government and political controls is one of the rights guaranteed to those who live in a democratic society.

We would therefore urge the UK government to rethink its proposal.

Yours sincerely,

Tony McWilliam

Chairman of the Media Working Group

#BermudianMedia #UnitedKingdom

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