The Queen need not bother attending Wednesday’s meeting of the Privy Council: the decision over press regulation has already been taken according to BBC Newsnight. And it has leaked. An octet of MPs has decided to reject the newspapers’ attempt to preserve press freedom (or self-regulation) and defer until 30 October judgment on the politicians’ rival plan for press regulation. Here’s the audio:-
So, if true, what would this mean? I hope: not a lot. Hacked Off is punching the air, but there's a snag. We don’t need politicians’ permission to have a free press in Britain: it’s a sacred right we have enjoyed for more than three centuries. As Allegra Stratton said on Newsnight, free speech is 'part of being British'.
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