Press watchdog forced to issue its own apology
Saturday 27 November 2010
Latest in Press
Related articles
On Facebook
From the blogs
GCSEs are a pointless waste of time
A few facts. Last year almost 70% of 16 year olds achieved at least 5 GCSE passes with grades A*-C. ...
Asylum seekers: When the questions tell us so much more than the answers
For the last four years I've been paying my karmic dues (I would say "contributing to the big societ...
Thanks to The Sun, for enriching each of our lives
Those at the super-soaraway Sun are, yet again, making outlandish claims that they’ve changed the wo...
Ones to watch: Aiden Grimshaw to Hey Sholay
With so much new music coming out it’s difficult to keep track of what’s out there. It’s a lucky dip...
Britain's press watchdog, charged with keeping newspapers out of trouble, was in the embarrassing position of having to say sorry itself yesterday, apologising for potentially misleading comments made by its chairman about the phone-hacking scandal.
Lady Buscombe, who joined the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) last year, issued a formal statement of regret in court after legal action brought by Mark Lewis, a lawyer acting for one of the public figures whose phone was targeted. The PCC also agreed to pay him undisclosed damages and legal costs. It is thought to be the first successful case against the commission.
Mr Lewis had argued that public statements made by the Tory peer may have suggested he had lied to MPs about the extent of the phone-hacking scandal at the News of the World.
It is hugely embarrassing for the commission, which is tasked with ensuring newspapers "take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information". A spokesman said he was unable to comment on details of the legal settlement because of a confidentiality agreement.
Mr Lewis represented Gordon Taylor, head of the Professional Footballers' Association, who sued the News of the World for hiring a private investigator who listened to his mobile phone messages. During a parliamentary inquiry last September, Mr Lewis told MPs an officer involved in the case had claimed the phones of "something like 6,000 people" had been hacked.
His account ran counter to a version of events endorsed by the PCC, which concluded that only eight people, including Mr Taylor, had been the victims of the phone hacking scam.
In a speech made to the Society of Editors, Lady Buscombe cited "new evidence" suggesting that Mr Lewis had misquoted the officer, Detective Sergeant Mark Maberly. She added: "Any suggestion that a parliamentary inquiry has been misled is, of course, an extremely serious matter."
At the High Court yesterday, the PCC and Lady Buscombe apologised for any insinuation that Mr Lewis had deliberately misled the inquiry. "The Commission and Baroness Buscombe regret that the statement may have been misunderstood and that this has caused concern to Mr Lewis," the court statement said.
Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator at the centre of the case, has already been told by the High Court that he must reveal which journalists told him to intercept voicemails. He has been granted permission to appeal against the decision.
*Three adult TV channels were taken off the air yesterday after broadcasting sexually explicit material before the watershed. Ofcom, the broadcasting regulator, found Tease Me, Tease Me TV, and Tease Me 2 and 3, guilty of "serious and repeated breaches of the Broadcasting Code".
- 1 Brazil rocked by abortion for 9-year-old rape victim
- 2 Osborne gets fingers burnt as pasty tax crumbles
- 3 News in pictures
- 4 Four Britons face death by firing squad after 'smuggling cocaine into Bali'
- 5 The 'suburban smuggler' facing death penalty in Indonesia
- 6 Vatileaks: Hunt is on to find Vatican moles
- 7 In pictures: The bewildering face of China
- 8 Help me decide future of press, Leveson asks Blair
- 9 Fire at one of world's most luxurious malls leaves 13 children dead
- 10 Hague sent packing by Russia as Annan peace plan crumbles
- 1 Robert Fisk: Clinton's $33m raid on Pakistan shows that, in the end, hypocrisy will win
- 2 Brazil rocked by abortion for 9-year-old rape victim
- 3 Robert Fisk: The West is horrified by children's slaughter now. Soon we'll forget
- 4 Sex in dressing rooms and Play School presenters 'stoned out of their minds' - inside BBC Television Centre
- 5 Fat? Really? Olympic hope laughs off official’s jibe – but others aren’t amused
- 6 Postgraduate students are being used as 'slave labour'
- 7 'Hello mum, this is going to be hard for you to read ...'
- 8 Coke reveals its secret: It may need to carry a cancer warning
- 9 French in uproar over oral sex anti-smoking posters
Experience the Heineken Hub
Get free wi-fi and exclusive i content while you enjoy a tasty pint of Heineken at participating pubs.
Can you imagine a career in teaching?
Be inspired to teach - let real teachers show you how rewarding the job can be.
Playing a game-changing role during the Games
Cisco is providing the solutions for London 2012's complex IT needs.
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Career Services
Day In a Page
'I may be deaf, but you can still talk to me'



Comments