PRCA defends industry lobbying
The PRCA have responded to claims of excessive lobbying by The City made by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism by mounting a spirited defence of the practice.
Francis Ingham, PRCA Chief Executive, said: "Lobbying is an absolutely integral part of the democratic process. The City and its regulatory framework are rightly subject to much political debate. So it is absolutely correct that the City's voice should be heard.
"There is nothing wrong in putting your arguments to government. The City contributes a vast amount to our country's wealth, and it has as much right to be heard as everybody else.
"The argument that making your side of the case is somehow improper is patently absurd. The prejudiced view that only those whose industry you like should have the right to lobby is the antithesis of everything good journalism should stand for."
The claims first surfaced in a guardian article in which the City of London was alleged to be behind a £10m public affairs machine.