News Of The World editor Andy Coulson arrives at the Old Bailey on October 30, 2013 in London, England.Lawyers for the UK newspaper and magazine industry challenge a government-backed planNewspaper chiefs fear the proposed royal charter may allow interference by politiciansTheir lawyers argue the process by which their own draft charter was rejected was unfairThe government-backed royal charter is due to go before the Privy Council for approvalLondon (CNN) -- Lawyers representing UK newspaper and magazine publishers are going to the High Court in London on Wednesday to try to halt the approval of a government-backed royal charter on press regulation.
The proposed royal charter follows months of talks between the industry and lawmakers on how to establish a system of independent press self-regulation, following an inquiry last year into press ethics led by Lord Justice Leveson.The inquiry was set up after outrage over claims of widespread phone hacking and other abuses by elements of the UK press. A number of criminal prosecutions are being brought in relation to those claims.Wednesday's legal challenge is being brought by the Press Standards Board of Finance (Pressbof,) which is the industry body that funds the current press watchdog, the Press Complaints Commission.var currExpandable="expand15";if(typeof CNN.expandableMap==='object'){CNN.expandableMap.push(currExpandable);}var mObj={};mObj.type='video';mObj.contentId='';mObj.network='cnnintl';mObj.source='world/2013/10/28/pkg-foster-uk-brooks-coulson-court.cnn';mObj.videoSource='CNN';mObj.videoSourceUrl='';mObj.lgImage="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/131028100321-rebekah-brooks-court-arrival-story-body.jpg";mObj.lgImageX=300;mObj.lgImageY=169;mObj.origImageX="214";mObj.origImageY="120";mObj.contentType='video';CNN.expElements.expand15Store=mObj;var currExpandable="expand25";if(typeof CNN.expandableMap==='object'){CNN.expandableMap.push(currExpandable);}var mObj={};mObj.type='video';mObj.contentId='';mObj.network='cnnintl';mObj.source='international/2013/10/28/exp-lead-intv-david-folkenflik-murdoch-empire.cnn';mObj.videoSource='CNN';mObj.videoSourceUrl='';mObj.lgImage="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130626145217-rupert-murdoch-story-body.jpg";mObj.lgImageX=300;mObj.lgImageY=169;mObj.origImageX="214";mObj.origImageY="120";mObj.contentType='video';CNN.expElements.expand25Store=mObj;Lawyers for Pressbof will apply at the High Court for permission to seek a judicial review of the royal charter backed by lawmakers on the grounds that the industry's own proposed royal charter was not properly considered and that the process was "startlingly unfair."The press-backed draft charter was rejected by the Privy Council, a body made up of government ministers and headed by Queen Elizabeth II.The newspaper publishers also argue that they were not properly consulted about the rival royal charter, which has cross-party political support.Government interference?A statement filed with the court states that the Pressbof challenge is made "in the context of a wholly unfair and irrational process leading to a recommendation and decision that has the potential profoundly to affect the nature of press regulation in this country."The newspaper publishers argue that the government-backed royal charter does not guarantee freedom of the press from political interference.The proposed charter can be amended with the agreement of a two-thirds majority in Parliament.It's due to be considered by the Privy Council on Wednesday -- unless Pressbof's legal challenge succeeds in delaying the process.Both versions of the royal charter envisage the establishment of a "recognition panel" to oversee a self-regulatory committee that would consider complaints against the press and would have the power to impose fines of up to 1 million pounds ($1.6 million) against newspapers for wrongdoing.Their differences hinge on how that panel is made up and on how changes can be made to the charter. The rejected Pressbof charter proposed that it be amended after agreement by the industry itself, while the government-backed version would be subject to a vote in Parliament.Protecting a free pressThe Privy Council rejected Pressbof's draft charter on the grounds that under its terms, the recognition panel would not be sufficiently independent of the industry and that it would not have sufficient powers to ensure proper redress.But Pressbof argues that its version of the royal charter is more likely to meet Leveson's aim of "a genuinely independent and effective system of self-regulation," free from government interference.Culture Secretary Maria Miller told lawmakers this month that they "must protect our free press whilst striking the right balance between independence and redress for individuals."There can be no question of undermining the press's ability to criticize or make judgments -- indeed that underpins our democracy and indeed holds us to account. However, we're talking today about ensuring that the public has a fair system of redress through which to seek to challenge mistakes and errors when necessary."The independent Leveson inquiry was set up by Prime Minister David Cameron to make recommendations on journalistic ethics and examine the relationship of the press with the public, police and politicians./* push in config for this share instance */cnn_shareconfig.push({"id" : "cnn_sharebar2","url" : "http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/30/world/europe/uk-press-regulation/index.html","title" : "UK newspapers seek to block royal charter on press regulation"});
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