English PEN has participated in the debate over press regulation, following the establishment of the Leveson Inquiry into the Culture, Practice and Ethics of the Press.
In March 2013 a Royal Charter for Press Regulation was approved, making provisions for a panel that would formally ‘recognise’ a press regulator. The existence of a ‘recognised regulator’ would trigger certain provisions in Part II of the Crime and Courts Act 2013.
In November 2014 English PEN published Who Joins the Regulator? A report on the impact of the Crime and Courts Act on publishers. The research, by English PEN’s legal consultant Helen Anthony, outlined how uncertainty in the provisions in the Act could cause a chill on freedom of expression.
Read ‘Who Joins The Regulator?’
Further reading
- Read English PEN’s submission to the Leveson Inquiry, November 2011
- Jonathan Heawood, Director of English PEN, gave evidence to the Leveson Inquiry on 24th January 2012.
- Following the publication of the Leveson Report in November 2012, English PEN issued a short response, asking ‘What About The Bloggers?‘
- After an agreement was reached on a Royal Charter for Press Conduct, English PEN’s director Jo Glanville published a short response, outlining free expression concerns
- Legal advisor to English PEN, Helen Anthony writes for the Media Guardian on the royal charter and legal framework not being the way to curb excess.