How Labour is plotting an attack on free speech in which it decides what the public can read
Arbitrary controls imposed on journalists in the Scottish Parliament suggest MSPs may go along with any Westminster assault on freedom of expression
How Labour is plotting an attack on free speech in which it decides what the public can read
Arbitrary controls imposed on journalists in the Scottish Parliament suggest MSPs may go along with any Westminster assault on freedom of expression
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has spoken about protecting 'a free and fair Press' but John McLellan has serious concerns about her latest plans (Picture: Leon Neal) | Getty Images
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Published 27th Jun 2026, 06:00 BST
Updated 27th Jun 2026, 06:00 BST
It’s 14 years since the Leveson Report and its damning conclusions on Press regulation was published, and 12 years since ex-News of the World editor Andy Coulson was jailed for his part in the phone hacking scandal which sparked the inquiry.
It’s also six Prime Minsters ago since David Cameron set it up, an instant reaction to the claim, subsequently found to be untrue, that newspaper hackers had deleted messages on the phone belonging to murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler.
Despite claims to the contrary, the repercussions are still being felt, not least rulings from the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), which regularly make life much more uncomfortable for editors than the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) it replaced. Leveson also destroyed police relationships with journalists, with experienced officers now cowed from speaking to reporters without someone from the press office to hold their hands.
Government interference
None of that washes with determined, tax-payer funded campaigners – largely targeting The Sun and Daily Mail, particularly media tycoon Rupert Murdoch and former Mail editor Paul Dacre – who have made it their mission to drag the Press into a government-linked regulation system, effectively handing politicians a role in how their scrutineers operate.
The political football that is the BBC is one reason news organisations have consistently opposed any government interference, including the left-of-centre Guardian which refused to join IPSO and just handles its own complaints.
Maybe he doesn’t realise it yet, as he’s had a bit on his plate recently, but Prime Minister number seven might be embarking on another attempt to rein in the rotters of Fleet Street, with this week’s publication of a UK Government Green Paper, called Watch this space: a new strategic direction for UK media.
The Press is not an obvious target as it’s largely aimed at promoting public service broadcasters like the BBC, STV and Channel 4 to counter the increasing dominance of streaming services, with traditional linear channel audiences falling from 65.4 per cent to 57.9 in the three years to autumn 2025.
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Government to decide who to trust?
Presented by the Minister for Creative Industries, Media and Arts, and long-serving Edinburgh South MP Ian Murray, the Green Paper is not a draft Bill but the basis for a public consultation. However, problems like fake news and misinformation that it seeks to address are spelt out and it does give a strong sense of the direction the government would like to take.
For non-broadcast news organisations in a multi-platform world, there are concerns about developing a landscape which favours the already dominant BBC in its battle with the likes of YouTube, with both controlling 19 per cent of the video content platform market.
But the government’s answer is it wants to explore how trusted news sites, locally and nationally, can be promoted in news searches so they take precedence over less trusted sources in a market where alternatives are springing up almost daily. That might seem promising, until it comes to the government deciding who or what is trustworthy.
Had it been left like that, alarm bells might have remained silent for now, but then Mr Murray’s boss, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Lisa Nandy, let the cat out the bag during Wednesday’s Commons debate on the paper, in an answer to ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn of all people, the only MP out of about 35 who asked questions to raise the spectre of Leveson.
Without hesitation Ms Nandy revealed she had recently met relatives of what she described as the “victims of Press intrusion” without saying who, what had happened or when the alleged intrusion had taken place. “We have always acted with care in this space to ensure that we protect a free and fair Press,” she said. “But he is right to say that action is needed to better protect people in this space, and this government are (sic) determined to take that action.”
She didn’t explain what action, but the Hacked Off campaign, which works with hacking victims, wants the revival of the abandoned David Cameron plan to force publishers to join a state-approved regulator by making them pay all costs in court actions against them, even if they win the case. It now appears Ms Nandy backs the Hacked Off demand.
That wasn’t all she had to say, telling MPs that the government was “particularly concerned about the blurring of news and fact with polemic and opinion, and that is a space in which we intend to act”. Again, how the government intends to define, never mind tackle, an unacceptable meeting of fact and opinion wasn’t explained, but along with clanging alarms, media hares are running and cans of worms have been opened as the government seeks to find ways to control what we can or cannot see or read, and, presumably, to punish those publishers who transgress.
READ MORE: Why the Scottish Parliament keeps making bad law – and how to fix it
A fight Burnham doesn’t need right now
There is a complication, however, in that responsibility for non-broadcast media is devolved to the Scottish Parliament, so any legislation affecting the Press would need to be adopted here for any UK-wide system to work.
The Scottish Parliament has rarely tried to pass Press legislation, mainly because it let Westminster take the heat and Leveson did not find any issue with the Scottish Press (I gave evidence). But with arbitrary controls on where journalists can operate in Holyrood imposed this month by the new Presiding Officer, Kenny Gibson MSP, nothing can be taken for granted.
It might be a wild guess, but I’d wager the last thing Prime Minister-designate Andy Burnham wants near the top of his in-box is a Press war, and maybe Ms Nandy will have a new job this time next month, or no job at all. He’ll have plenty of new battles in the weeks ahead without fighting one from the past.
Former Scotsman editor and PCC member John McLellan is director of the Newsbrands Scotland trade association
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