Alex Salmond praises Lord McCluskey's report for being "admirably clear" but will he follow it?
A statement from the First Minister Alex Salmond has described Lord McCluskey’s press regulation as “an extremely thorough piece of work” and that the report is "admirably clear" adding that the Scottish Government will now “take the time to consider all of their suggestions in full and discuss the proposals with the other political parties and other stakeholders”.
Since the proposal was revealed this afternoon it has garnered a mixed reception from the press and politicians alike with the NUJ Scotland welcoming the proposals, and Media Scotland editor-in-chief Allan Rennie and Scottish Conservative Leader Ruth Davidson condemning them.
Salmond’s statement continues: “It is for the Parliaments in London and in Scotland to establish a recognition process. It is for the press to bring forward a voluntary regulatory body compliant with Leveson principles. I hope that this is still possible.
“The Scottish Government indicated at the time of Leveson’s report that we wanted to implement his key proposals of a voluntary self-regulatory system set up by the press with statutory underpinning.
“Since Leveson reported, all parties in the Parliament have taken part in a cross-party effort that has seen the leaders hold talks with Hacked Off, the Media Standards Trust and representatives of the press with a commitment to meet with the UK Government after their position becomes clearer.
“These efforts will continue and the Scottish Government will report back to Parliament after Easter on the progress of these talks.
“I would like to put on record my sincere thanks to Lord McCluskey, David Sinclair, Professor Neil Walker, Peter Watson and Ruth Wishart for their efforts in producing this diligent report.”