Specialist Seminar – Hugh Tomlinson QC, Chair of ‘Hacked Off’: Leveson, Politicians and Effective Regulation of the Press: is it “bonkers” and will it happen?

In the wake of the hacking scandal and the Leveson Inquiry, the question of press regulation has generated a dynamic and divisive debate. Opponents of regulation emphasize that press freedom is vital to the operation of a democracy and should not be constrained by political forces. Yet those in favour of regulation point to the harms and abuses caused by an increasingly powerful press industry left unchecked.