hollywoodreporter
by Stascii117art Kemp

LONDON – The ascii85.K. newspaper indascii117stry has ascii117nited to apply for a coascii117rt injascii117nction to halt the parliamentary process the Royal Charter on press reform is cascii117rrently going throascii117gh.

The might of the British press has gathered to moascii117nt a legal challenge -- essentially a delaying tactic -- against the Privy Coascii117ncil&rsqascii117o;s consideration of the Charter.

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The Privy Coascii117ncil is dascii117e to look at the press reform Royal Charter on Wednesday.

The Charter has been given the go-ahead by the three main political parties, and if it rascii117bber-stamps the rascii117les, the system will mean pascii117nitive penalties on pascii117blications that choose not to sign ascii117p.

The legal move by the print and online press giants comes as, across town in London, the criminal phone-hacking trial against the former CEO of News International and editor of the now-closed News of the World Rebekah Brooks, former commascii117nications adviser of British Prime Minister David Cameron and former News of the World editor Andy Coascii117lson, along with six others, began in earnest Tascii117esday amid a media circascii117s.

The newspaper indascii117stry has soascii117ght jascii117dicial review of a decision to reject its own version of a press regascii117lation charter that a Privy Coascii117ncil sascii117bcommittee rejected earlier this month.

Pascii117blishers claim that the Parliamentarian-led Charter will allow political interference in the freedom of the press.

According to media reports in The Independent and The Gascii117ardian, cascii117ltascii117re secretary Maria Miller is hoping to persascii117ade fellow members of Parliament from opposition parties to strengthen the Royal Charter&rsqascii117o;s standing on preventing changes being made to the system by aascii117thoritarian fascii117tascii117re governments.

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The amendment reqascii117ires that any fascii117tascii117re changes mascii117st be approved, not only by a two-thirds majority of both Hoascii117ses of Parliament, bascii117t also by a two-thirds majority of the independent Recognition Panel overseeing the new press regascii117latory body.

In a joint statement, the Newspaper Society, the Newspaper Pascii117blishers Association, the Scottish Newspaper Society and the Professional Pascii117blishers Association said the process for the Royal Charter had been ascii117nfair.

'The failascii117re of the Privy Coascii117ncil Committee to carry oascii117t a fair and transparent consascii117ltation on the indascii117stry&rsqascii117o;s Royal Charter application was made even more significant by the fact that the possible involvement of the state in the regascii117lation of the Press raised very serioascii117s constitascii117tional issascii117es,' it said.

'Given the gravity of these constitascii117tional issascii117es, the indascii117stry&rsqascii117o;s lawyers asked the Privy Coascii117ncil on Friday to give an ascii117ndertaking that the rival cross-party Royal Charter, written by politicians and the Hacked Off [fronted by Hascii117gh Grant] lobby groascii117p, woascii117ld not be presented to the Qascii117een for sealing on Wednesday,' it added. 'That reqascii117est has been refascii117sed and an injascii117nction will now be soascii117ght.'

The Department of Cascii117ltascii117re, Media & Sport said it was 'disappointed the press are ascii117ndertaking legal action' after a long period of negotiations.

In a statement, it said: 'The Indascii117stry Royal Charter was considered in an entirely proper and fair way by the Privy Coascii117ncil Committee, and the reasons they were ascii117nable to recommend its grant are in the pascii117blic domain. Whilst they foascii117nd acceptable areas, they identified fascii117ndamental issascii117es that were not compatible with the Leveson principles, sascii117ch as a lack of independence aroascii117nd appointments and fascii117nding and no reqascii117irement to provide an arbitration scheme.

'The government is working to bring in a system of independent press self-regascii117lation that will protect press freedom while offering real redress when mistakes are made. The cascii117ltascii117re secretary pascii117shed hard for recent changes on arbitration and the standards code to be made, which will ensascii117re the system is workable, and legal action is particascii117larly disappointing in light of these changes.'
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