January 30, 2017

The NMA is calling on the PRP Board to instigate an ad hoc review of its decision to recognise IMPRESS following its lawyers’ letter to the PRP.

As reported in last week’s N2K, lawyers acting for the NMA wrote to the PRP to point out that “a regulator should not be recognised unless the PRP is satisfied that the members of the regulator’s Board are able to bring to bear the degree of impartiality to be expected of a regulator acting in the public interest. The same is true regarding the regulator’s Code Committee.

“The content and tenor of the [public] statements attached make it clear that certain individuals on the Board of IMPRESS and on the Code Committee and IMPRESS’ CEO hold very extreme views on sections of the press that would impair their ability to act fairly and impartially in regulating members of the press”.

Under the Royal Charter on Self-Regulation of the Press, the PRP’s functions include “withdrawing recognition from a Regulator where the Recognition Panel is satisfied that the Regulator ceases to be entitled to recognition”.

The PRP can carry out ad hoc reviews of the recognition of a regulator at any time if there are exceptional circumstances, and in particular serious breaches of the recognition criteria, and if there is a significant public interest in a review being undertaken. It has confirmed that it is maintaining an awareness to ensure IMPRESS continues to meet the recognition criteria, taking into account feedback from third parties. To read the NMA’s press release in full, click here.