Reforming how we regulate our media
The UK’s press regulator has never fined a newspaper. The Liberal Democrats say that has to change.
For too long, the UK press has been allowed to regulate itself, prioritising sensationalism and clicks over the truth and human lives. From high-profile individuals to ordinary families with no platform and no lawyers to fight back, too many people have been treated as collateral damage by a media that answers to no one.
That is why the Liberal Democrats are proud to support Tulisa Contostavlos in her vital campaign to reform how we regulate our media.
Tulisa has bravely shared her own harrowing experience of what an unaccountable media can do, highlighting a pattern of wrongdoing that has stretched for decades. We have seen this time and again - from the victims of the phone-hacking scandal and the Hillsborough families to ordinary people who face probing from the press during their rawest moments of grief following tragedies.
I recently met Tulisa as part of her campaign, to learn more about her experience, and the experience of many others who have been through similar ordeals. Their stories are a stark reminder of what can happen when powerful media organisations cause enormous harm without facing meaningful consequences.
The Leveson recommendations were made more than a decade ago, following some of the most serious failures in the history of our press. Yet we are still waiting for meaningful action.
The Government needs to finally deliver the reform that victims of press abuse have been waiting for, and ensure that no one else has to suffer the same harm."
Right now, the UK press remains regulated by IPSO, a regulator created and funded by the newspapers themselves. In over a decade, IPSO has never fined a single newspaper. Banks, broadcasters, and our food safety are all independently regulated. Is it not time the press was held to the same standard?
The Government must act now: implement the outstanding recommendations from Leveson 1 and launch Leveson 2. We need a regulator that the press does not control, fund, or appoint - one with real power to investigate, issue fines, and protect people before their lives are destroyed.
We all deserve a media we can trust.