A number of publications have contacted the Skwawkbox for comment on our intentions regarding our membership of IMPRESS, the UK’s only Leveson-compliant press regulator. IMPRESS receives some £3m in funding from the Alexander Mosley Charitable Trust, which is associated with Max Mosley. Mosley has been the subject of claims this week about an election leaflet printed in the early 1960s for a party set up by his father.
Below is the Skwawkbox’s comment:
Our membership of IMPRESS is under review but no decision has been taken.The fact that IMPRESS receives a large part of its funding from any one, wealthy individual or organisation has always been far from ideal, but the UK needs a genuine, Leveson-compliant press regulator.If IMPRESS folded for lack of funding, there would be no meaningful press regulation in the UK. IPSO is run by the organisations it’s supposed to regulate and has been called a ‘sham’ and ‘the illusion of reform’ by campaign group Hacked Off.IMPRESS therefore cannot be allowed to collapse for lack of funding, especially in view of Matt Hancock’s Leveson statement this morning, which amounts to a declaration of war on the independent media, to protect the corporate press that he laughably called the ‘lifeblood of our democracy’.IMPRESS should, however, be looking urgently for alternative sources of support – though it seems clear that the government has no intention of funding genuinely-independent press regulation.
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I think that’s the right decision you’ve made there. Mosley’s done some good things since that leaflet 56 years ago. He admits it was a mistake and besides, you are right, it’s not healthy that he should be Impress’ main funder, nor Tom Watson’s for that matter. Bit like with the Oxfam business though, you know that when it’s the Daily Fail flinging the mud, there’s a hidden agenda; in this case yet another attempt to damage the Labour Party.
The Mail is against IMPRESS because it says it is controlled by the state.
The Mail says IMPRESS is controlled by Max Mosley.
Well which? Can’t be both??!!
Was this Matt Hancock’s Leveson statement a stitch up purely to paint IMPRESS and the blogs that are IMPRESS compliant in a bad light Steve just it seems strange that they again hark back to 50 year old news
If you watched the Channel 4 News interview with Max Mosley on Tuesday you would understand that it is not just a matter of a 56 year old leaflet, it is a question of whether he misled the High Court in 2008 regarding this leaflet.
Perhaps a Labour Govt could put a levy on the media to fund an independent type Impress as well as supporting more diverse media ownership and perhaps ruling out owners who are registered in tax havens!
And why not make funds available for more independent media and media cooperatives?
“The lifeblood of democracy” Ha! Ha! perhaps as some suggest “More like sucking the life out of democracy?” The rich and powerful want EVERY advantage to CON the electors and they want anything but a level playing field!
These so-called newspapers have been subverting democracy for decades, and they are of course the very antithesis of “The lifeblood of democracy”. Hitler and Goebbels would have been very impressed…….