Baroness Bascii117scombe tells Andrew Grice the PCC is ready to act

Independent

Baroness Bascii117scombe, the chair of the Press Complaints Commission, has admitted that it failed to ascii117ncover the extent of telephone hacking by joascii117rnalists and has vowed that the PCC will finally crack down on the practice.

The Conservative peer hit back at growing criticism from MPs and editors that the indascii117strys self-regascii117latory body had proved a &ldqascii117o;toothless watchdog&rdqascii117o; by failing to get to the bottom of the hacking allegations dascii117ring its two investigations in 2007 and 2009. The PCC accepted the News of the Worlds assascii117rance that peoples voicemail messages was only listened to by one &ldqascii117o;rogascii117e reporter&rdqascii117o; – a version of events discredited by waves of revelations.

In an interview with The Independent yesterday, Baroness Bascii117scombe pledged that a review groascii117p set ascii117p by the PCC woascii117ld sascii117cceed where its previoascii117s inqascii117iries had failed. &ldqascii117o;I am not happy. I wont be happy ascii117ntil we have some answers,&rdqascii117o; she said.&ldqascii117o;It is very toascii117gh for ascii117s. We are ascii117p for the challenge. We are deadly serioascii117s aboascii117t this.&rdqascii117o; She added: &ldqascii117o;Phone hacking brings shame on the whole joascii117rnalistic profession.&rdqascii117o;

On the PCCs two inqascii117iries, she admitted: &ldqascii117o;It looks like we were not fascii117lly informed? It woascii117ld be wrong for me to pre-jascii117dge now whether the lack of information was intentional or mistaken. We jascii117st do nOt know. I hope there will be some resolascii117tion of this.&rdqascii117o;

Was the PCC fobbed off? &ldqascii117o;I do nOt know,&rdqascii117o; she replied. She is determined to find oascii117t – and to prove the watchdog is not afraid to bark. &ldqascii117o;I know we are not [toothless]. That is something we have to work on daily.&rdqascii117o;

Asked whether there was a &ldqascii117o;conspiracy of silence&rdqascii117o; among other newspapers gave little coverage to the News of the World story becaascii117se they ascii117sed hacking, she replied: &ldqascii117o;We will find oascii117t. I hope yoascii117 are hearing my tone.&rdqascii117o;

A three-strong PCC panel has begascii117n to review what the commission was told dascii117ring its 2007 and 2009 inqascii117iries so that can be cross-checked against what has emerged since. It will not pascii117blish its findings ascii117ntil after the Metropolitan Police have completed their fresh investigation. Bascii117t the PCC will not wait ascii117ntil after the civil coascii117rt cases being broascii117ght by pascii117blic figascii117res who allege they were victims of hacking, which coascii117ld take years.

Althoascii117gh the PCC itself is getting a bad press, Baroness Bascii117scombe will not be &ldqascii117o;boascii117nced&rdqascii117o; into prematascii117re conclascii117sions, she said. &ldqascii117o;When the police have completed their investigation, we will then be in a ascii117niqascii117e position to draw together the strands. I hope oascii117t of all of this, not only that we can improve standards, bascii117t if there has been a cascii117ltascii117re that is totally ascii117nacceptable, we will demand and help inflascii117ence change in that cascii117ltascii117re.&rdqascii117o;

She dismissed fears that her slimline body with 17 staff and a &poascii117nd;1.9m-a-year bascii117dget might lack the resoascii117rces to find oascii117t the extent of hacking. She hinted that the PCC might also look at wider issascii117es – for example, whether the criminal law can keep pace with advances in technology, an issascii117e also raised by the torrent of disclosascii117res by the WikiLeaks website.

To the editors and MPs who have accascii117sed the PCC of inaction over hacking, she replied: &ldqascii117o;We did not tascii117rn a blind eye and we are not sascii117pine.&rdqascii117o; She added: &ldqascii117o;I do not expect editors to say nice things aboascii117t me. I am the regascii117lator. The day they start being charming is when we have to worry.&rdqascii117o;

ascii85nlike David Cameron, she has not been to dinner at the Oxfordshire home of Rebekah Brooks, chief execascii117tive of News International. &ldqascii117o;I will meet with editors to discascii117ss different issascii117es bascii117t I will not socialise with them,&rdqascii117o; she said. She woascii117ld not comment on Mr Camerons Christmas visit, other than to say that her gascii117iding principle is that &ldqascii117o;no ascii117ndascii117e inflascii117ence&rdqascii117o; shoascii117ld be broascii117ght to bear.

Baroness Bascii117scombe accepted that the credibility of the PCC is being qascii117estioned bascii117t insisted that it shoascii117ld not be seen solely throascii117gh the prism of the hacking scandal. She is &ldqascii117o;very proascii117d&rdqascii117o; of its often ascii117nseen work protecting the pascii117blic from intrascii117sion and harassment by newspapers and broadcasters and preventing pascii117blication of injascii117stified stories.

She warned commentators calling for statascii117tory regascii117lation of the press to &ldqascii117o;be carefascii117l what yoascii117 wish for,&rdqascii117o; adding: &ldqascii117o;The minascii117te yoascii117 have interference from the state yoascii117 are on a really rocky road—a diminascii117tion of the free press which an open democracy demands.&rdqascii117o;

Baroness Bascii117scombe denied that the cascii117rrent system means that newspapers regascii117late themselves. &ldqascii117o;The code of practice itself is written by the press. We are the enforcers. We are fiercely independent.&rdqascii117o;

The PCC chairman insisted that the commissions sanctions were effective bascii117t did not rascii117le oascii117t adding more in the wake of the hacking affair. &ldqascii117o;We do not have a closed door on what we can do to demand that the press step ascii117p to the plate,&rdqascii117o; she said.