The hard cases of press self-regulation and royal charters are what matter now as the years since Leveson roll by. Perhaps angry complaints to the Independent Press Standards Organisation will light the blue touch paper – see, currently, the Sun’s controversial treatment of its UK Muslim sympathy for fighters in Syria – perhaps not. But events could easily push opinion in another direction.
Tim Yeo, ex-MP and minister, loses a libel case against the Sunday Times. Mr Justice Warby finds his evidence “utterly implausible” and hails responsible reporting in the public interest. So Yeo owes the paper £411,000 in legal costs (with more to come).
But what if a recognised charter was already in place? What if the Sunday Times then, as now, stood outside the system? What if clauses triggered this month in the Crime and Courts Act made it possible for courts to inflict exemplary damages and costs on newspapers even if, like here, they won hands down? What if the bill for victory started at £822,000 and rising?
Press reluctance to sign up isn’t mere obstinacy. Add being bludgeoned to death by a blunt legal instrument to the list.
