Lisa Nandy said it was “clearly unsatisfactory” that ordinary people would not be able to pursue lengthy legal battles such as the Duke of Sussex’s marathon fight through the courts.
The fact that not everybody has the access to justice that would enable them to pursue a case through the courts is a “very important point” that families from the Hacked Off campaign have flagged to her, she said.
“Because those wealthy and powerful people who are in the public eye, who have that public platform have been able to shine a spotlight on what’s happening to ordinary people who wouldn’t otherwise have been able to get that into the public domain.
After Prince Harry’s lengthy court case against the publisher of The Sun, News Group Newspaper, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said it was “clearly unsatisfactory” that only the wealthy can secure justice.
The phone hacking scandal has affected the less well-known just as much as the rich and famous.
Nandy says that she will examine proposals put forward by the families affected who want to change the way the system works to make it easier for the the less well off to secure their own redress.
But the Culture Secretary risks treading a difficult political tightrope, having insisted she will protect a free and fair press, while also giving those within the Hacked Off campaign hope that media reforms could be coming.
She may find that with proposed changes to BBC funding, spending on the arts at risk and creative sectors being squeezed, a fight with the media over Levenson-style reforms is a battle she can ill afford to take on.
A second-stage Leveson inquiry has already been ruled out, but she said that families from the group were putting together a briefing for her on the changes they are seeking.
She said she had been told about some “incredibly egregious examples” from families but that Government “can’t just legislate for egregious cases”.
“More broadly, newspapers play a vital role in a functioning democracy. Clearly, they must operate within the bounds of the law and certain codes. You’ve got the Government’s plans as set out in the manifesto, [we’re] not going ahead with a new inquiry.”
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