We Cameron Must Not Win Commons Vote Tomorrow!

Okay, you raise a fair point on Press Freedom, then you must work to reassure not just Hacked Off and various celebrities involved, you must reassure the families of/and ordinary victims of Press intrusion

• What reassurances will you give that Cameron's alternative has more teeth than the Press Complaints Commission did?

• What reassurances will you give that taboids will suddenly be well behaved? 

• How do you account for the fact that the tabloid press has more power than most politicians? Who elected them?

• What will you do to help promote a society where people go for journalism for news and not tittle tattle and prurient gossip and where we have investigative journalism like Woodward and Bernsteen and not have people prominent in papers like Dacre, Mackenzie, and Littlejohn?

• How will ordinary citizens, in practice , be defended against press intrusion, especially given the way some in the police have behaved during the phone hacking scandal. What guarantees can you give, to the Dowlers and others like them!

If you can answer all these questions and others that may follw, then fine! But this is a matter of trust and for too long we have seen hacks being constantly allowed into the last chance saloon and failing to turn up to AA meetings! For the good of our society this must cease!
Please lobby your MP to vote against the government on Monday!

Why We Must Stick To Leveson's Proposals!

What disheartens me slightly about the governments actions is that it is as if things will be back to square one. Some newspapers (and I refer to The Gardian and The Independent) say they do not want to be in the same dock as some of the tabloids and I agree, given the evidence, some argue also that would you let victims of muggings decide the law on muggers etc.. again fair point, but these tabloids and similar institutions have the advantage, unlike muggers, of being very, very, powerful organisations on a national scale that wilfully abuse their power and are not democratically answerable. What is needed is for that abuse to be stopped and for us to know and see the changes in that direction!

Is Leveson Loading a Gun on the Press

My reaction on reading this is "Good!" but obviously there is a caveat. Mainly that it is discerning and attacks only certain sections of the Press and bears in mind the good work that investigative journalism of the more mature variety does (take MP's expenses for example). We must always have a questioning media and a free press, but we must not have a feral media that wallows in spiv culture and that must always be stamped on when necessary

Lord Prescott on Those Prince Harry Pics

Totally agree. Mention the story, but no need for the pics as far as I am concerned

Those Prince Harry Pics

Yes it is not an issue as such in that he is doing something a lot of other people of his age have done and therefore not newsworthy. As Vanessa Feltz said, if he was a dignitary at the Olympics misbehaving in front of others that would have been different, but instead he is third in line to the throne and this was in his spare time. I may not approve of what he did, but it is not news and not in the public interest for the reasons I have given

Is Leveson Being Threatened?

What I find chilling about the recent criticisms actually involves what Michael Gove said, not that I agree with him, which I don't. What is going on here is an investigation into the conduct of the press, and whilst freedom of the press is essential, the freedoms of the individual is also important and for too long we have seen less genuine investigative journalism of the Woodward and Bernstein variety on our front pages than there are investigations into the private lives of football stars, models, actors, etc.. I think we are in for some storms ahead and those of us who have concerns over abuses in the media should speak out more loudly and practice what we preach!

Cameron at Leveson

A no of people comment on the "We're all in this together!" text, but what surprises me is the no of times David Cameron seems to have forgotten vital meetings and discussions. Some I can understand, but others not and what this says overall about the PM is disturbing and I fear he may well have put himself into a corner!