‘Leveson plea for press watchdog breaches rights’
3 Dec 2012 5:57 AM IST
Shami Chakrabarti, a top adviser to Lord Justice Leveson says his key proposal for compulsory press regulation in UK in the aftermath of the phone-hacking scandal would be illegal as it would breach the Human Rights Act.
Chakrabarti, a London-based prominent Indian-origin human rights activist, said any such clampdown would breach the Human Rights Act and be open to legal challenge.
The Leveson's report last week recommended an independent self-regulatory body for the British media industry, backed up by legislation. Currently, the British press is self-regulated through the Press Complaints Commission (PCC).
British Prime Minister David Cameron had set up the inquiry last year after it emerged that journalists at the now-defunct News of the World tabloid of Rupert Murdoch had hacked the phone of Milly Dowler, a 13-year-old murdered schoolgirl, as well as targeted dozens of crime victims, celebrities and politicians.
Chakrabarti, 43, one of six assessors who worked on the Leveson Inquiry, said: ‘We were chosen as advisers because of our areas of expertise. ‘Mine is human rights law and civil liberties. In a democracy, regulation of the press and imposing standards on it must be voluntary,’ she told the Daily Mail. ‘A compulsory statute to regulate media ethics in the way the report suggests would violate the act, and I cannot support it,’ Chakrabarti, director of the civil rights group Liberty, said.
Chakrabarti, a London-based prominent Indian-origin human rights activist, said any such clampdown would breach the Human Rights Act and be open to legal challenge.
The Leveson's report last week recommended an independent self-regulatory body for the British media industry, backed up by legislation. Currently, the British press is self-regulated through the Press Complaints Commission (PCC).
British Prime Minister David Cameron had set up the inquiry last year after it emerged that journalists at the now-defunct News of the World tabloid of Rupert Murdoch had hacked the phone of Milly Dowler, a 13-year-old murdered schoolgirl, as well as targeted dozens of crime victims, celebrities and politicians.
Chakrabarti, 43, one of six assessors who worked on the Leveson Inquiry, said: ‘We were chosen as advisers because of our areas of expertise. ‘Mine is human rights law and civil liberties. In a democracy, regulation of the press and imposing standards on it must be voluntary,’ she told the Daily Mail. ‘A compulsory statute to regulate media ethics in the way the report suggests would violate the act, and I cannot support it,’ Chakrabarti, director of the civil rights group Liberty, said.
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