Parliament: Reporting of Proceedings Question 11:30:00 Asked By Lord Taverne To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to preserve the right of newspapers to report proceedings in Parliament. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Bach) My Lords, the ability to report proceedings in Parliament remains unaffected by recent events. As my right honourable friend the Prime Minister said yesterday in another place: “The Justice Secretary has talked to the parties concerned and is looking into this issue”. He went on to say that he hoped that, “progress can be made … to clear up what is an unfortunate area of the law”.—[Official Report, Commons, 14/10/09; col. 294.] Lord Taverne My Lords, I welcome the reaction of all parties, the Prime Minister and the Government, to the questions that arose yesterday out of Mr Paul Farrelly’s Question to the Commons. However, the threat still exists. These so-called super-injunctions are becoming more common and can be very oppressive. Will the Government take this opportunity to make it absolutely clear that similar actions to those of Carter-Ruck would be a clear breach of Article IX of the 1688 Bill of Rights, which states that, “the Freedom of Speech and Debates or Proceedings in Parliament, ought not to be impeached or questioned in any Court or Place out of Parliament”? Will the Government also take note of the remarks made yesterday by Lord Justice Laws on the law of libel and set up an urgent review of whether what he called the delicate balance between the right of reputation and the right to free expression has not perhaps tilted too far in favour of the former? Will they also look at whether so-called libel tourism should not be restrained? Lord Bach We are looking at all the matters that the noble Lord raises. Of course, the courts have always had the right to restrain publication that would frustrate the very purpose of their orders, but it seems that they have used that power more during the past few years than previously. The Government will not seek to intervene in any way in what a newspaper or magazine chooses to publish. The press must abide by the law just as we all must. However, the issues that the noble Lord raises are very live ones in the Ministry of Justice. My right honourable friend the Justice Secretary is seeing Mr Speaker this afternoon, a senior official from my department is meeting the lawyers of the major newspapers today and the judiciary is being consulted. Lord Howarth of Newport My Lords, will my noble friend take this opportunity not only to assure newspaper editors that they will have a continuing right to report proceedings in Parliament but to put it to them that they have a responsibility to extend their typical coverage of Parliament beyond what the sketch writers choose to describe or the latest story of political embarrassment? After all, how are we to have an informed and responsible democracy if the print media fail to mediate the proceedings of Parliament in a reasonably broad, balanced and serious way? Lord Bach My noble friend makes an excellent point, which will win a lot of support around the House. I very much suspect that my right honourable friend will make that point to the newspapers in the same way as he makes his other points. Lord McNally My Lords, is it not ironic that tomorrow we celebrate the opening of the Supreme Court, which underlines the separation of powers? Is it not time to remind the judiciary that the separation of powers is a two-way street and that judges should not be lured into imposing injunctions that impinge on parliamentary privilege? The letter sent by Carter-Ruck to Mr Speaker is far from penitent. Would this matter not be settled far more quickly if Mr Speaker summoned Carter-Ruck to the Bar of the House? Lord Bach The only answer that I will give to the noble Lord is that I look forward to seeing him at the opening of the Supreme Court tomorrow. Lord Campbell of Alloway Is there not an absolute privilege for the press to report proceedings in Parliament, so long as they do not comment on them? Lord Bach There is absolute privilege; I am hardly surprised that the noble Lord is correct about that. Proceedings in Parliament are subject to the absolute privilege accorded by Article IX of the Bill of Rights. That article provides that proceedings in Parliament ought not to be impeached or questioned in any court. As I understand it, that means that we in this House and those in another place receive absolute protection from court proceedings for things done while engaged in parliamentary duties. There is of course the principle of qualified privilege as well, which means that in the reporting of proceedings material can be produced provided that it is fairly reported. In particular, reports that were motivated by malice would not be protected by the privilege. Lord Foulkes of Cumnock My Lords, further to the point raised by my noble friend Lord Howarth about the responsibility of reporting proceedings of this Parliament and, indeed, other matters accurately, does my noble friend agree that the current Press Complaints Commission is toothless and useless? Would he consider legislation to replace it with a statutory body? Lord Bach That is a very big question, which I am not prepared to answer. Lord Goodhart My Lords, will the Government consider looking more thoroughly at the libel laws? At present, they seem to be making the United Kingdom, particularly the English courts, a centre for worldwide applications to secure substantial damages by people who think that they have been libelled. Should we not try to get rid of that? Lord Bach There are some important considerations around the law of defamation and libel at present, particularly in relation to costs. We are aware that the costs associated with defamation proceedings have what has been described as a chilling effect, particularly where the impact of success fees under conditional fee agreements is taken into account. The question of what might properly be done to address cost issues in relation to defamation remains under consideration by the Government. These issues, as the noble Lord will know better than most, form part of the important consideration that Lord Justice Jackson is making on costs in civil proceedings generally. His final report is expected at the end of the year and will be considered with interest by all parties.