Wakeham moves to curb cheque-book journalism

STEPHEN GOODWIN

Parliamentary Correspondent

Tighter controls on cheque- book journalism in the wake of the Rosemary West murder trial were trailed last night by Lord Wakeham, chairman of the Press Complaints Commission.

The former Tory Cabinet minister has begun talks with editors and proprietors on a new protocol to the industry's voluntary Code of Conduct dealing with payments or offers of payments to witnesses.

The move was backed by Lord Mackay of Clashfern, the Lord Chancellor, in a debate in which more reactionary peers denounced cheque-book journalism as "blood money" and called for a legal ban on payments in court cases. But Lord Mackay said he did not believe it "wise to rush into legislation".

Outlining the proposed protocol, Lord Wakeham said that in financial dealings with potential witnesses, newspapers or magazines would have to:

t demonstrate a "legitimate public interest" at stake involving matters that the public had a right to know;

t ensure that no dealings influenced the evidence that witnesses might give;

t payment or offer of payment to any witnesses actually called in proceedings should be disclosable to the prosecution and defence.

Peers were concerned witnesses might "colour" or exaggerate evidence to make a story saleable. There was a reminder of the Sunday Telegraph's offer in the Jeremy Thorpe trial to double the money offered to a witness if the former Liberal leader was convicted.

Lord Wakeham accepted that the code was "considered ambiguous because of the uncertainly of knowing what a 'potential' witness is in the initial period after arrests are made.

"There is also the problem of knowing how the public interest - which certainly does not mean whatever interests the public - is applied." Examples where the public might have a right to hear stories were police failings in bring criminals to account or the failings of a social services department.

"A free press is an integral part of a free and democratic society and I for one will to all I can to avoid any form of statutory controls on it," Lord Wakeham said. "But a free press also needs to be a responsible press - and their response in this area may prove to be another touchstone of that responsibility."