Government can't ignore the Leveson Inquiry
UK Politics expert Dr Simon Usherwood, says the government will find it hard to ignore the Leveson Inquiry into Press Standards. He says: "Having given so much free rein to the Inquiry in the wake of the phone-hacking at the News of the World, the government will find it very difficult indeed to avoid implementing, or being seen to implement, the conclusions."
Dr Usherwood said: "The cross-party group which has formed to oppose regulation by law represents a final stand that will find it hard to resist the weight of public opinion. Of real interest will be how the media itself reacts and how far they can shape the will of Parliament."
Dr Paul Hodkinson, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, comments: "The build-up to Leveson’s report has demonstrated a stark contrast between vehement lobbying by the press and some politicians against statutory regulation and fairly clear indications of public support for such regulation. The possibility of a ‘last chance’ for self-regulation has been mooted by some, inviting comparisons with the last chances afforded to the press in the wake of the Calcutt reports of 1990 and 1993. The response to the report of politicians - so often reluctant to risk falling out with the big newspaper groups - will be fascinating."