Political leaders are making final efforts to rally support for their rival plans on press regulation, ahead of a deciding Commons vote on Monday.
Prime Minister David Cameron faces defeat unless he can persuade MPs from other parties to support his proposals.
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg and Labour's Ed Miliband back his idea of a watchdog set up by royal charter - but they want it to be created in law.
Mr Miliband urged MPs to "stand up for victims" of press abuse when they vote.
The revelation of the illegal practice of phone hacking by journalists closed the News of the World in 2011 and sparked Lord Justice Leveson's inquiry into press ethics.
He found newspapers had "wreaked havoc with the lives of innocent people", and he called for a new independent regulator, backed by law to ensure it was more effective than existing self-regulation.
'Decades of failing'The prime minister and his deputy Mr Clegg unveiled rival plans after Mr Cameron halted cross-party talks on the issue on Thursday.
End Quote Ed Miliband Labour leaderMonday is the day that politics has got to do the duty by the victims"
Both believe the creation of a new press self-regulatory body by a royal charter could work - but they disagree on whether it should be backed by law.
National newspaper editors are against any statutory underpinning, saying it would erode the freedom of the British press.
Mr Cameron agrees enshrining the royal charter in law will harm press freedom - but Mr Clegg and Mr Miliband say the rules will lack impact without it.
Speaking to the Observer, Mr Miliband said: "Monday is the day that politics has got to do the duty by the victims and has got to stand up for the victims.
"I think it is an important moment because we have had decades of failing to ensure that we have a system of press complaints and redress which means that ordinary people aren't left at the whim of a sometimes abusive press."
He said when MPs vote they should break with the past when "politicians were fearful of speaking out because they thought; 'I'm going to get bad publicity; it will turn the press against me'."
The other main differences in the rival royal charter, which Mr Clegg launched with Mr Miliband, involve not giving the press a veto over the members of the regulator and preventing it from being watered down or strengthened by future governments.
'Wrong side'Mr Cameron insisted his proposal was "the fastest possible way to deliver the strong self-regulation body that Leveson proposed that can put in place million-pound fines, prominent apologises and get justice for victims in this country".
But he said on Saturday he was "delighted" with the "real progress" that had been made and that Mr Clegg and Mr Miliband had now "dropped many of their previous unworkable demands".
The prime minister has indicated he will abide by parliament's decision.
Bob and Sally Dowler, the parents of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, have said they are "disappointed" that the Leveson recommendations may not be used. The NoW was shut down after it was found Milly's phone had been hacked.
Hacked Off, the campaign group representing some press abuse victims, has been leading calls for full implementation of the Leveson report.
But one of its key figures, the actor Hugh Grant, writing in the Observer, said the campaign had "reluctantly accepted that a royal charter could be the way to give backing to the new system".
He added Mr Cameron faced "possible defeat" because he was "so clearly on the wrong side in this".
However, the Sun On Sunday reports: "Britain's long, proud status as a beacon of press freedom is under threat" on Monday, quoting the World Press Freedom Committee as saying any statutory scheme would constitute a "draconian regime".
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
MPs do battle ahead of press vote
Dengan url
http://sarapanoatmeal.blogspot.com/2013/03/mps-do-battle-ahead-of-press-vote.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
MPs do battle ahead of press vote
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
MPs do battle ahead of press vote
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar