Free speech groups call on the Queen to halt ‘repressive’ press regulation plans
A coalition of free speech groups have voiced their opposition to ‘repressive’ press regulation plans which they say risk undermining the country’s international standing, by issuing a direct appeal to the Queen.
Campaigners against plans to use a Royal Charter to back a new system of British newspaper regulation say that co-opting the monarch’s authority to regulate the media will undermine Britain’s authority over human rights in the Commonwealth.
The fears are raised in an open letter to the Queen signed by the World Press Freedom Committee, the International Press Institute and the Inter American Press Association.
This follows conclusion of last year’s Leveson Inquiry which was set up to ascertain wrongdoing by journalists. Its recommendations include a call for a new system of regulation backed by a Royal Charter that is independent of the state.