SCOTLAND’S newspapers are reportedly being recommended a new regulatory body, set up by law.
Reports The Scotsman this morning, the legislative option to overseeing Scotland’s Press is the key recommendation in a report coming out today, produced by an ‘expert panel’ convened to suggest how the conclusions of the Leveson Inquiry last year into Press standards might be implemented in Scotland.
Scotland has devolved powers to regulate the Press separately and differently to south of the Border, where yesterday, it was revealed that MPs will, on Monday, vote on a Royal Charter, rather than legislation, to set up a new Press watchdog.
Yesterday, allmediascotland reported the ‘expert panel’ recommendations are to be published today.
Writes Tom Peterkin and David Maddox: “The Scotsman understands it will recommend a new law that would set up a Scottish Government press regulator.
“The panel, which has been examining the issue since December, believes a Leveson-style approach is key to controlling the press in Scotland.
“In common with the Irish Press Ombudsman model, the legislation would be confined to setting up a new body, which would scrutinise the behaviour of the press and ensure it was in line with Leveson.”
The five-person panel includes the journalist, Ruth Wishart and David Sinclair, a former assistant editor at The Herald, plus a former president of the National Union of Journalists, and now head of communications at Victim Support Scotland.
Chairing the group is former Solicitor General and Senator of the College of Justice, Lord McCluskey, with the other two places taken up by Peter Watson, senior partner of Levy & McRae and Visiting Professor at the School of Law, University of Strathclyde, and Neil Walker, Regius Professor of Public Law and the Law of Nature and Nations at the School of Law, University of Edinburgh.
