A Dacre’s Dozen: 12 fatal flaws in the press barons’ charter – Evan Harris

In an attempt to undermine the Royal Charter on press regulation that has been agreed by all parties in Parliament, Associated Newspapers News International and Telegraph Group have published their own rival charter, the “PressBoF” Royal Charter.

Public distrusts press version of regulation scheme – Brian Cathcart

Almost three times as many people distrust the press regulation scheme put forward by some of the newspapers as trust it, according to a new opinion poll by the YouGov organisation.  In March, a Royal Charter based on Leveson [pdf] was backed by all parties in Parliament and it is due to be approved by the Privy Council in June, but last month a group of news organisations published and have now petitioned the Privy Council [pdf]

Three corporations clinging to the PCC wreckage – Brian Cathcart

And then there were three. Far from being the work of ‘the newspaper industry’, the latest attempt to prevent effective, independent press regulation on Leveson lines is being led by just three organisations.

David Cameron’s Charter opens the way for ministers to control the press – Brian Cathcart

Here’s a paradox: with vital votes due in Parliament on Monday, the people who run our biggest national newspapers are backing a press regulation system in which serving cabinet ministers would have a legal right to meddle whenever they liked.

Hacked Off: Press Industry Statement on Leveson Talks: Inaccurate, Distorted and Unreliable

Like their newspapers, the “representatives of the press industry” apparently negotiating with Conservative ministers over Leveson cannot shed their old habits of inaccuracy, distortion and unreliability.  The statement they made yesterday about Cameron’s announcement is misleading and disingenuous, concealing the true position – that the press want to water down Leveson – behind the rhetoric of press freedom.

News: Conservatives pull out of cross-party Leveson talks, Parliament will decide

The Prime Minister has told a press conference that the Conservatives are pulling out of cross party talks about the implementation of the Leveson report.  He said that regulation would not work without the consent of the press.  He accepted that, as a result, the matter would be decided by Parliament on Monday 18 March 2013, when there would be a vote on “Leveson amendments” to the Crime and Courts Bill.

Hacked Off: Top Ten Myths About Leveson

There are lies, damned lies and then there are Leveson stories in the British newspapers. Sections of the press have been engaged in a systematic and transparently self-serving campaign to undermine the credibility of Lord Justice Leveson’s report, a campaign which began even before it was published.

Hacked Off, Leveson and the Royal Charter: Do this, says the press, and ministers do it – Brian Cathcart

Hacked Off has acquired a letter that vividly shows newspaper bosses giving orders to government ministers behind the scenes, just weeks after the Leveson Report declared that such secret manipulation damaged the interests of the public.

Leveson and ‘journalistic materials’: another myth – Brian Cathcart

If Lord Justice Leveson’s recommendations are implemented in full, does that mean that it will be easier for police officers conducting investigations to seize confidential research materials from journalists? The idea has gained some currency, but the answer to the question is no.

Leveson: The Latest Press Disinformation Campaign – Brian Cathcart

Three weeks ago the great former Sunday Times editor Sir Harry Evans accused the national press of gross distortion and staggering misrepresentation in their coverage of Lord Justice Leveson’s report. Well, since then it has got a lot worse.