Government backs down from law to ban chequebook journalism

Newspapers were given another chance to stamp out "chequebook journalism" yesterday when the Government backed down from its threat to legislate against payment of witnesses.

The Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine of Lairg, decided against adopting more radical proposals, which could have seen editors jailed for paying witnesses in criminal cases. He said he had opted for "tougher media self-regulation" after extensive consultation with newspaper bodies and the Press Complaints Commission (PCC).

The new rules, which will also have to be observed by broadcasters for the first time, will involve the rewriting of the PCC's Code of Practice to create an "absolute ban" on payment of potential witnesses.

To offer payments that are conditional on whether a

defendant is found guilty or

acquitted will also be "unacceptable in all circumstances". Media organisations will still be able to pay witnesses for their stories after a trial.

Lord Irvine said the Government remained strongly committed to banning the practice of payments being made to witnesses in active criminal proceedings, because of the "real risk this poses to the process of justice. But following suggestions made by the PCC in consultation and subsequent discussions, we have decided that it might be possible to achieve this objective through tougher media self-regulation.

"This is not an unconditional acceptance of the PCC's proposal," he said. "For self-regulation to be viable, it should be adopted by all media regulators."

The Lord Chancellor said he wanted to see the new system in place by the end of the year, but warned that if the

self-regulatory approach did not work the Government remained "ready to legislate".

Last week, the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, warned the media not to act in ways that could prejudice the case against Ian Huntley and Maxine Carr. David Morris, the coroner holding the inquest into the deaths of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, criticised two newspapers' offer of rewards of up to £1m in connection with the police investigation.