Professor Brian Cathcart, Hacked Off's Executive Director (pictured), said: "The draft Royal Charter on press self-regulation was agreed amid some fanfare on 18 March, but more than three months later nothing has been done to put it into action. Unless something changes in the next few days, it could be months before real change can begin.
"You would think that when all three main party leaders sign a solemn agreement, and when that agreement is approved by every single party in Parliament, whatever it was they all decided on would actually happen. Yet for reasons that are unclear but worrying, ministers are failing to act on Parliament’s clear instruction. It seems that key politicians are treading water.
"Until a week ago the delay could be explained by the spoiling tactics of the press bosses, which forced the Government to waste several weeks. But now there are no grounds for inaction. And while the delay goes on, everything that came out of the year-long Leveson Inquiry is left in limbo, and the day when the press barons and editors face a measure of accountability is pushed farther into the future."
On 18 March, Parliament agreed to send the draft Royal Charter to be rubber-stamped by the Privy Council in May. A delay of seven weeks was subsequently agreed for legal reasons, to deal with the draft charter submitted by the press body PressBoF. Those seven weeks expired more than a week ago, and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which is supposed to be carrying out Parliament’s instructions, have yet to make any announcement.
Professor Cathcart said: "Now we learn that the next Privy Council meeting is on 10 July – and there may not be another for months after that. Although Privy Council approval is a bizarre mediaeval ritual, it is vital if the work of putting the new Charter into action is to start. A delay of, say, three months would mean three months’ wait before the establishment of the new, independent inspection body whose job will be to check that the new press self-regulator is not another Press Complaints Commission.
"No doubt PressBoF is planning further legal manoeuvres, but a self-interested clique of newspaper bosses must not be allowed to stand in the way of Parliament’s will and nor would the Government allow any other vested interest to obstruct it in such a way. Mrs Miller should act now. The minister has been the target of shameless intimidation tactics by national newspapers. We trust she is ignoring that and will not allow a small group of powerful press barons to frustrate the will of Parliament."
