31 January 2012

Leveson Inquiry: Hearings - Day 34

LEVESON INQUIRY:CULTURE, PRACTICE AND ETHICS OF THE PRESS

"I want this inquiry to mean something", not end up as "footnote in some professor of journalism's analysis of 21 century history." LJ Leveson in reply to A Rusbridger's submission to Inquiry.

Lord Justice Leveson

From Guardian:
Here's a quick reminder of the four modules within this first year of the inquiry.
Module 1: The relationship between the press and the public and looks at phone-hacking and other potentially illegal behaviour
Module 2: The relationships between the press and police and the extent to which that has operated in the public interest
Module 3: The relationship between press and politicians
Module 4: Recommendations for a more effective policy and regulation that supports the integrity and freedom of the press while encouraging the highest ethical standards.

Witness list for this week (30th January to 2nd February) to be found HERE
Video Recordings of each day's proceedings HERE
Live Feed From Leveson Inquiry Site HERE
BBC Democracy Live Feed HERE 



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Today's links to articles, info and comments relevant to the Leveson Inquiry (frequently updated) :

Full Fact
notwithstanding Grade's objection, the PCC tell us they already accept they are subject to Judicial Review


John Prescott
The idiot who led PCC whilst phone hacking was rife says self-regulation is "as good as you're going to get"


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Tuesday 31st January 2012
( Link to Hearing Day 33 HERE )


Today's Witnesses:

Lord Grade (PCC)
Lord Hunt (PCC)
Sir Christopher Meyer (PCC)


     

      Lord Grade








      Guardian Live Blog


      Ben Fenton
      Meyer is now finished. Lord [Michael] Grade who is now a lay member of the PCC, is up next.

      Hacked off
      Lord Grade was chairman of the BBC between 2004 and 2006

      Ben Fenton
      Journalism not chilled by statutory regulation, Grade says, but it would mean a slow process of justice.People want speedy redress.

      Ben Fenton
      Grade says he would also be worried about a statutory scheme which was able to prevent publication.

      Mark White
      Grade says he'd be worried about possibility of a politically appointed statutory body having power to stop publication of stories


      Ben Fenton
      Provided PCC 2 entirely independent of govt&proprietors/publishers too, it will be a major step forwards. says he entirely agrees.
      Guardian Live Blog:
      Grade says he does not believe that statutory regulation would have a chilling effect on investigative journalism, pointing to investigative TV programmes which he describes as "heavily regulated".However, he says he has two objections to statutory regulation:
      First, statutory regulation would raise the prospect of judicial review, and the complaints process would be slower. For example, the BBC Trust dealt quickly with the Jonathan Ross/Russell Brand controversy, while statutory regulator Ofcom took months to issue a judgment.
      Second, he has concerns over a statutory body taking over powers to intervene with newspapers pre-publication.
      Leveson asks Grade to consider a framework that could allow an independent body to carry out its work.Grade is an advocate of "incentives" to encourage publishers to be part of a new regulatory body.
      However, he says he worries about the parliamentary process and the ability to get legislation through without being mangled.



      T Portilho-Shrimpton
      Grade: I think it's essential for a regime of quasi regulation or regulation to have visible, tangible, painful means of sanction

      Ben Fenton
      Grade says it's essential new body has teeth. Visible, tangible painful means of sanction, yes. [& did you bring yr CV, Lord G?]

      Ross Hawkins
      Grade at : suggests 'carrot' to take part in new PCC could be membership to be taken account in defamation damages etc



      Ben Fenton
      Grade says has been surprised most by extent of ex-ante intervention by PCC to stop some of the worst excesses.

      Ben Fenton
      [that remark will have wondering if what he has seen isn't "the worst excesses", how much worse does it get.]

      Hacked off
      Grade: felt direction that Baroness Buscombe was taking the PCC in with independent appointments was something I could sign up to 

      lisa o'carroll
      . Grade: staff of PCC overworked, underpaid, work ridiculous hours. Get calls from of night editors, at 11pm, 12am and weekends


      Ross Hawkins
      Grade at : PCC as it exists today is not resourced to be anything more than a complaints resolution vehicle

      Lord Hunt 
                                 





        Ben Fenton
        Lord Hunt of Wirral,current chairman of PCC, who it turns out went to school with They don't remember each other. Liverpool College

        Josh Halliday
        Serving PCC chairman Lord Hunt says new body should be regulator, unlike current PCC.

        Dan Sabbagh
        Hunt "Sir Christopher and I go back a long way and I can't recall a time where he has agreed with me". (So much for the past at the PCC)

        Ross Hawkins
        Hunt at : (on opposing statutory regulation) the road to Parliamentary hell is paved with good intentions

        IndexLeveson
        Hunt name-checks McNae's Essential Law for Journalists

        Ross Hawkins
        Hunt at : if bill to regulate press went through parl no telling what would come out the other side

        Ross Hawkins
        Hunt at : tremendous opportunity for press to come forward with system Sir David Calcutt was asking for

        Josh Halliday
        Serving PCC chairman Lord Hunt: "We need a fresh start and a totally new body"

        Ben Fenton
        Admiral on the bridge should know what is going on in the engine room, new PCC chairman says of newspapers.  

        Ross Hawkins
        Hunt at : there's a wide consensus for radical reform as an urgent necessity
        Guardian Live Blog:
        Hunt says that a new press body should have two arms: one that deals with complaints and mediation; and one that audits and enforces standards and compliance with the editors' code. He adds that a named individual in each organisation should be responsible for compliance.
        There should be an annual audit to ensure compliance.
        The body would be underpinned by a commercial contract with publishers.
        Hunt says it is encouraging that there is a "consensus for widespread reform". All media players "accept that radical reform is an urgent necessity".
         Hunt suggests an independent review of the code of conduct.
        He adds that the new system needs "formal legal underpinning" so that it can enforce sanctions, including financial penalties.
        Hunt says the new PCC functions and powers could be set up without legislation, but with formal contracts.
        He says the body should be "recognised by statute" rather than having its operation set out by statute.

        Ben Fenton
        Hunt sees real appetite for reform. [does see his inquiry being made redundant, though? Hunt seems to have put tanks on lawn.]

        Ross Hawkins
        Hunt at - PCC being criticised for failing to exercise powers it never had in the first place

        Ben Fenton
        BREAKING: Hunt says Desmond has signed up for his vision of a new PCC

        Dan Sabbagh
        Jay "how will get people to join up". Hunt: "By asking them". Then he says that Northern & Shell have agreed to join it.

        Dan Sabbagh
        ...if that is true, that is significant. But Richard Desmond did not indicate that he would sign up to new regulator at Leveson.

        Ben Fenton
        Hunt says his new PCC would have fines issued by standards and compliance arm. Jay:is appetite for reform actually a fear of ?

        Ben Fenton
        [Hunt keeps saying: the advice I've received... He has obviously been talking to high-calibre lawyers. And he is one himself]

        Ben Fenton
        [I think if I was I wd be wondering if my inquiry wasn't being booted into long grass by an alliance of papers&pols]

        Ben Fenton
        Hunt:self-regulation has a huge advantage, that it can adapt to circumstances. That is possible without another act of Parliament.

        Ben Fenton
        [Sounds to me as if Hunt has been talking to some pretty serious law-drafters about this. Is this a govt-backed suggestion?]

        Ben Fenton
        asks if there isn't a second sword of Damocles for the press: "if we don't do something quickly will do sthg worse to us."

        Hacked off
        Hunt: I think you have opened the window opportunity. I'd be keen to use the momentum your inquiry provided to press on with reform

        Ben Fenton
        [The inquiry has suddenly got all newsy. After a lot of bad will this morning, suddenly we are looking at real action.And soon.]

        Ben Fenton
        says he positively encourages work Hunt and others have done. But I have got some concerns that I would like considered as well.

        Dan Sabbagh
        Hunt cites an article wrtitten about him by Edward Pearce - "David Hunt is a sponge" then adds "but even a sponge can be useful".

        Ben Fenton
        Hunt reminds that he was supported by a newspaper when he stood up against Enoch Powell on racism when in his 20s


        IndexLeveson
        Hunt: I've had more than my fair share of derision from press, but I'd fight to the death for their right to express their views

        Guardian Live Blog:
        Lord Hunt is asked whether there is anything to the point that the PCC has historically been led by Conservative peers.Hunt, a Tory peer, says he has had more than his fair share of "derision" from the press but would "fight to the death" for the industry's right to express those views.
        "The press is a mixture, I suppose, buy the fact it is a free press is probably our nation's greatest asset," Hunt adds.
        Leveson says that Hunt's contractual model "says absolutely nothing to the public".Hunt says the PCC would not stop a member of the public pursuing litigation instead of using the commission.
        He adds that the new regulator should be built on an agreed definition of "the public interest".
        Leveson says that Hunt's contractual model "says absolutely nothing to the public".
        Hunt says the PCC would not stop a member of the public pursuing litigation instead of using the commission.
        He adds that the new regulator should be built on an agreed definition of "the public interest".

        Dan Sabbagh
        Northern & Shell: "We are in touch with Lord Hunt. Things are looking encouraging."
        Sir Christopher Meyer 



          Guardian Live Blog

          From Sir Christopher Meyer's Twitter feed 13th October 2011:
          Christopher Meyer

          Press already partly regulated by state via Data Protection Act, Human Rights Act, Regulation of Investigatory Practices Act, among others.

          Comments on Today's Evidence by Sir Christopher Meyer from #Leveson Twitter feed:


          Hacked off
          Sir Christopher Meyer was chair of , 2003-2009, and is a former UK ambassador to Germany and the United States

          Ben Fenton
          Sir Christopher Meyer says PCC IS a regulator. There is such a thing as self-regulation but is unlike anything else, he tells

          Michael Curran
          Never one to follow an overwhelming consensus - Meyer tells he thinks the PCC *is* a regulator.

          Hacked off
          Meyer: PCC is a public service... for the 99% who come to the PCC for help who do not lay claim to celebrity of any kind

          Josh Halliday
          Sir Christopher Meyer has the answers to Robert Jay's questions before they've been asked. This should be good.

          Hacked off
          [Occasion never arose, ? Pfff]

          Ben Fenton
          Meyer now questioned about 2003 speech about the "permanent evolution" of the press. He'd been in job 5 or 6 weeks only.

          Ben Fenton
          Jay: Wasn't this a bit precipitate? Meyer: "Mr Jay, I do not believe in hanging around."

          IndexLeveson
          Meyer: all through my 6 years at PCC I agonised over what type of regulation it could be called 

          Ross Hawkins
          Jay accuses Sir Christopher Meyer of flamboyance. Meyer says he's been wise.

          Michael Curran
          Meyer at : "I hate to call myself *wise*, but I think it was *wise*, very *wise*"

          Ross Hawkins
          Myer at : still believes PCC shouldn't be able to fine, director yday suggested they should in some circumstances
            

          Hacked off
          Meyer says he would not accept the public wanted the PCC to posses sharper teeth

          Ben Fenton

          We asked people: What do you want - fast free and fair or to get bogged down? points out that is not a v fair poll question.

          Michael Curran
          picking up Meyer on key issue. How you frame the question/debate is crucial. Sounds obvious but listening to Meyer you'd never know

          Ben Fenton
          Meyer: I think when the question was put, it was done a with more sophistication and subtlety than I have just expressed. harrumphs

          Gavin Freeguard
          Thanks for the RT. (We did some polling in 2009, which might be useful, too - from p39 )


          Ross Hawkins
          Myer at : Guardian threatened to leave PCC in 2003 after ruling against paper

          Dan Waddell
          Meyer's era at PCC saw arguably worst of the press's excesses. His softly-softly chummy approach failed miserably


          Ross Hawkins
          Myer at : no Any Questions audience member ever questioned him on press - Lev : maybe they didn't know what it was

          Hacked off
          Meyer: only the Advertising Standards Authority was better known than the PCC, I think, in successive polls.



          Ben Fenton
          Meyer:No point in duplicating police report.2 men had gone to jail.Editor had gone to jail.At the time, it seemed pretty draconian.

          IndexLeveson
          Meyer on Goodcaire jailings: was strongly of view that it wouldn't be useful or possible for PCC to try to duplicate police inquiry

          Gavin Freeguard
          Meyer, now: 'fanciful' idea of quasi-police invstgtn. PCC, 18/5/07: 'wide-ranging inquiry' into phone-hacking

          Ross Hawkins
          Meyer at : entirely fanciful to suggest PCC could have sent quasi police investigative force into News of the World

          Ben Fenton
          Jay instantly challenges this.It might have played oddly if it came out as he was taking job with Cameron that he'd refused to talk to PCC.
          From Guardian Live Blog:
          Meyer says the decision not to interview Andy Coulson, after he left the News of the World, "was exactly the right one to take … although presentationally it has made things difficult for me".Meyer says the PCC had no powers to interview under oath, and in any case Coulson no longer worked for the paper.
          He says it is "wholly improbable" that Coulson would have been able to tell the PCC more than Colin Myler "had been able to dig out of the system".
          Coulson "would not have had anything of value to add to the reports that we published", says Meyer.

          Ross Hawkins
          Meyer at : didn't think ex NOTW ed Coulson would have had anything of value to add to report on hacking

          Peter Hunt
          Meyer suggests Robert Jay QC is being "mean spirited" in one of his questions.  

          Ben Fenton
          Jay forces Meyer to admit that there is nothing in PCC articles of association that sanctions editors for misleading it.

          Ben Fenton
          Meyer: Virtue for us in Colin Myler was that he was a fresh pair of eyes who knew his industry well.

          Ross Hawkins
          Meyer at : says people were surprised at just how much the PCC learned from News of the World

          David Leigh
          "A giant criminal conspiracy in the belly of the beast" Meyer at trying to defend the failure of the PCC

          Hacked off
          Meyer: PCC is a regulator unlike any other. Max Mosley had a choice of either coming to the PCC or going to law. He went to law.

          Hacked off
          [Meyer just lost his cool a bit, uttering a 'for pity's sake']

          lisa o'carroll
          meyer: I've never met Mosley. I hate F1 racing. He was extremely rude about PCC, so he was never going to Pcc

          Ben Fenton
          We might have found for him.I'm not sure where you are going with this,Meyer says to Jay. [Counsel for appears to be enjoying this]

          IndexLeveson
          Meyer: once you go to law the game changes. Possible the whole thing [Mosley] might've taken a different course if he'd come to us

          Ben Fenton
          If it had come to the PCC, the Mosley case would have pivoted on whether or not they had got the public interest right. Meyer tells

          Steven Nott
          Phone hacking: Meyer " there is a time for the law and a time for the PCC" what a COP OUT statement. No wonder they've done nothing

          Peter Hunt
          Meyer: in my time as chairman of I stopped big stories from being published.

          Austen Ivereigh
          Sir Christopher Meyer is simply not credible. The idea that PCC cd have or wd have stopped Moseley story is just not real.

          Ben Fenton
          asks to what extent, in reality, wd PCC get involved in the facts? [Meyer seems to have changed his vocal tone, half-octave lower]

          Michael Curran
          : "This isn't a hypothetical question Sir Christopher, this is a very real question" Meyer: "Well, put like that...." Result.



          lisa o'carroll
          ex diplomat Meyer losing cool. 'you keep trying to put words in my mouth mr Jay.You haven't the faintest idea when they (eds) said'

          Hacked off
          Meyer: I think when you mention the word collusion, even to dismiss it, there's a whiff of poodle or lap dog here...

          Peter Hunt
          Meyer: I tried to take out to lunch every national editor once a year .

          T Portilho-Shrimpton
          Meyer: My policy was actually personal distance, but institutionally, obviously, the PCC had to be close to the industry 

          Matthew Holehouse
          Sir Christopher Meyer - - getting testy at . He tells QC: "Mr Jay, please forget the amateur psychology here."

          Martin Hickman
          In no particular order, Sir Christopher Meyer being haughty, defensive, charming, unsettled and peeved in his evidence on the PCC

          Ben Fenton
          [Discussion within press room during break about whether Meyer is doing well or not. Some think he shd be standing up to Jay...]

          Ben Fenton
          [others that he is not sounding like the suave diplomat we know he has been]

          lisa o'carroll
          . Meyer: mr jay forget the amateur psychology here. This is truly entertaining. One leveson wag: Is he the McMullen of regulators

          Ross Hawkins
          Meyer at : Scottish paper ran headline 'assassination plot against Tony Blair' - body text said there was no such plot

          Ben Fenton
          Jay is moving on to misleading headlines. Meyer says he told industry they cdn't have misleading headlines on top of accurate copy.  

          Ben Fenton
          Meyer says it was a balance between the two. I was out there all the time saying watch it with the headlines.

          Ross Hawkins
          Meyer at : there were limits to what you could do to monitor the entire UK output of newspapers

          IndexLeveson
          Meyer: we ran series of seminars describing how code of practice works. Must write code of conduct into every journo's contract. 

          Ben Fenton
          Meyer says he disagrees with Jay's idea that proactive statements of principle wd be more effective than "jurisprudence".

          Ross Hawkins
          Meyer at arguing the rulings by the PCC helped set the rules, were noted and acted on by journos


          Ben Fenton
          Third party complaints not ruled out by PCC. That was a myth. It was case by case. But they were rare, Meyer tells

          Ben Fenton
          1st party was king. If they didn't want to proceed we wouldnt entertain a 3rd party complaint.  

          Ross Hawkins
          Meyer at : family of footballer who died on the pitch (& was photoed) didn't want PCC to act so they didn't despite oth complaints

          Ben Fenton
          asks if they could have intervened privately to say there was a point of principle at stake even if there's no 1st party complaint

          Hacked off
          I'm pleased the inquiry has contributed something with which you agree Sir Christopher [after praised Leveson's idea]

          lisa o'carroll
          Meyer says industry monopolised both presbof and code of practice committee. Balance was not right

          Peter Hunt
          Robert Jay QC to Meyer : you're going off on a bit of a tangent. : am I?



          Hacked off
          Meyer: we didn't feel under the obligation to put under the code everything the select committee recommended. 

          Ross Hawkins
          Meyer at : "I'm going to have to be a bit slippery on this..." (on writing ability of journos to refuse jobs into code)

          Hacked off
          Meyer: we were constantly being asked by the NUJ to get into effectively contractual disputes between their members and managements



          From Guardian Live Blog:
          Meyer is asked about the Commons culture, media and sport committee's recommendation in its 2003 report Privacy and Media Intrusion that:
          The code should explicitly ban payments to the police for information and there should also be a ban on the use and payment of intermediaries, such as private detectives, to extract or otherwise obtain private information about individuals from public and private sources, again especially the police.
          He says this was never implemented by the PCC because bribery was already covered by criminal law.
          Meyer is asked about coverage of the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.He says he made it "perfectly plain" to Gerry McCann that it was either the legal route or the PCC.
          In July 2007, Meyer told McCann and his press handler what the options were if they believed they need to "take action" against a newspaper.

          Hacked off
          Meyer: we made particular efforts with the McCanns to make ourselves available

          Ben Fenton
          Meyer reminds that PCC acted to protect other McCann children from press scrums. But couldn't act ahead of them.

          Hacked off
          Meyer tells Jay PCC did help stop the media harassment, protecting their children
           

          Ben Fenton
          [Did we know that Meyer pushed Hill out of the PCC? Or that any editor has ever been told he has to resign by the chairman? 

          Ben Fenton
          Hill told me something about Portuguese police sources. Meyer had "torn him off a strip" on Radio 4 after the libel settlements 


          Ben Fenton
          Meyer says it is "very unfair" to say that he acted too slowly to condemn the Express's coverage of the McCann's

          T Portilho-Shrimpton
          Meyer: am I to go out there and say "poor old Peter, he's taken a knock, but onwards and upwards, chaps?" 

          Ben Fenton
          Some editors worried that Hill's departure meant it would be a precedent of having to resign from PCC if they lost libel case.


          Ross Hawkins
          Meyer at : I am repeating (myself) Mr Jay because it doesn't seem to be sinking in

          Mark White
          Former Press Complaints Com. Chair Sir Christopher Meyer getting rather testy as he defends PCC handling of McCann's complaint 

          T Portilho-Shrimpton
          Meyer: McCanns needed the press for publicity's sake... but in those circumstances it was a Faustian bargain and you could see why 

          Ben Fenton
          You cd see journalists out in Praia de Luz under pressure from newsdesks to produce fresh stories so they started taking risks. 


          Ross Hawkins
          Meyer at : treatment of McCanns was abominable but doesn't need big inquiry or systematic review to see it

          T Portilho-Shrimpton
          Meyer: if Dr and Mrs (sic) McCann don't want it (to pursue a complaint), you can't do it 
           

          Ross Hawkins
          Meyer at : did say Gerry McCann was right to sue Express titles, didn't advise him to sue, said this on interview

          Mark White
          Don't think I've seen a more combative (some would say arrogant) witness than the former PCC Chair, Sir Chirstopher Meyer 


          Hacked off
          Meyer: one of successes of PCC was in containing media scrums. Ask Lady Newlove (widow of Gary Newlove, who was beaten to death) 

          Ben Fenton
          "I wd refute your connection of the McCanns and the Jefferies cases" Meyer to Jay.

          Michael Curran
          Sir Christopher at : "You will forgive me if I push back from time to time, rather than sitting here like a coconut..."


          Hacked off
          Meyer is saying Thomas was unwilling to tell him who were the journalists procuring information from PI Steve Whittamore  


          Guardian Live Blog:
          Meyer is asked about his dealings with the former information commissioner, Richard Thomas.He says that Thomas "laboured under the misapprehension" that the PCC had power to enforce the criminal law.
          The PCC published guidance on the Data Protection Act in 2005, Meyer says.
          Thomas told the PCC in December 2003 that "there are going to be journalists caught up in this; there are going to be court cases", according to Meyer.
          Meyer says he wanted evidence on who was hiring inquiry agents "and he [Thomas] was unwilling to do that".

          Ben Fenton
          Meyer says PCC cdn't take early action on blagging because Info Commissioner wdn't say which journos/papers were misbehaving.




          Peter Hunt
          Meyer. Sighs again. Loudly.

          Hacked off
          Jay showing Meyer a completely illegible note (it's up on the screen in the annex - impossible to read)  

          Ross Hawkins
          Meyer at on Jay's questioning (with infinite weariness) : Oh no, no, no...

          Hacked off
          what were you prepared to do? Meyer: think we would have gone into some kind of action with the newspapers in question 

          Joel Gunter
          It continues: "I wanted beef, I wanted red meat!". (This is Meyer on the PCC being unable to obtain names from / Motorman

          Steven Nott
          Phone hacking: Meyer "This is like interpreting the Rosetta stone" - QC Jay says "it's not quite that bad, its not in 3 languages" 

          Ross Hawkins
          Jay - it's not it's not in three languages. (Jay turns a light red and joins Meyer in giggles) 

          Hacked off
          [Meyer showing all his contempt for the inquiry right there, laughing at Jay trying to show him evidence] 

          Peter Hunt
          Meyer: this is getting more and more confusing. Lord Justice Leveson: it's not that confusing.



          Ben Fenton
          Meyer says Jay is expecting that he shd have supernatural powers because he didn't foresee the ramifications of Op Motorman

          Hacked off
          Meyer: we get into negotiation with the ICO to come up with a guidance note, and then it disappears into deep underground legals

          Lunch break.

          From Guardian Live Blog:
          1.22pm: Here is a lunchtime summary of today's evidence so far:

          • The former chairman of the PCC, Sir Christopher Meyer, has denied "inaction" over newspapers' Madeleine McCann coverage.
          • Meyer said he told Peter Hill, the former editor of the Daily Express, he had to resign in wake of McCann libel payout.
          • Meyer warned against statutory involvement in press regulation and against fines for newspapers.
          Meyer is asked about a meeting with the Information Commissioner's Office in January 2006.He said in the meeting that the PCC "could not be seen as a general regulator".
          However, he says he repeatedly told the former information commissioner, Richard Thomas, that his office and the PCC could "complement each other" in their work.


          Hacked off
          Meyer and Jay still debating the reaction of the PCC to Operation Motorman

          T Portilho-Shrimpton
          Meyer: I was not in the business to call in editors to explain actions which were perfectly legal

          Hacked off
          [Except that ICO's report says they were probably illegal transactions]

          Hacked off
          Meyer: I needed actionable information. That was never given. 



          Peter Hunt
          Meyer: Richard Desmond viewed me as the devil incarnate.
          From Guardian Live Blog:
          Meyer is asked about an article in The Sun in 2003 that labelled former boxer Frank Bruno "bonkers", after he was taken to a psychiatric hospital.The PCC censured the Sun over the article, but the then Sun editor, Rebekah Wade, sent Meyer a terse reply.
          Meyer describes the Sun's response to the criticism as "silly".
          Jay points out that Meyer's note at the time said "lunch in the new year" and asks if this was a tough enough response.
          Meyer responds that he met each of the editors once a year.


          Gavin Freeguard
          The watchdog/lapdog interview currently being discussed - Meyer said 'not a lot' wrong with PCC
          From Guardian Live Blog: 
          Meyer is asked about about an interview he did with the Guardian's Roy Greenslade in March 2009 titled "Watchdog or lapdog?".Asked in the interview what needed to be improved about the PCC, Meyer said: "Not a lot."
          He added:
          I think it's improved a great deal over the last six years. I am not saying that we've reached a state of grace but it's in a state of permanent evolution and it's done jolly well.
          He stands by that. "I think to have said a hell of a lot would have been perverse," Meyer says. "I would rest on those words even now".
          Meyer admits he was criticised by Greenslade over the number of ajudications made by the PCC, but says it cannot "artificailly inflate" them.

          Michael Curran
          "Sorry i don't want to sound arrogant, but i'm scratching my head to think of failures." Meyer talking about his time at the PCC  

          Ben Fenton
          Meyer asked about remarks that Major govt "cringed" to the press in 1994-97.

          Peter Hunt
          Meyer on time as D St spokesman: exaggerated belief in influence of front page headline.

          Ben Fenton
          An attempt to get alongside Rupert Murdoch failed utterly because Rupert thought John Major was a loser.

          Ben Fenton
          "Private contacts between pols and press are as old as sin itself," Meyer tells


          Guardian Live Blog:
          Meyer says the government attempted to "get in" with Rupert Murdoch, but it "failed utterly" because Murdoch thought Major was "a loser".
          2.28pm: Jay says in his witness statement, Meyer talks about "the cringing of politicians to the press" when he was John Major's press secretary and government spokesman from 1994 to 1997.
          "Enormous" attention was paid to national newspaper editors in the early 1990s, Meyer says, adding: "It came down to an exaggerated belief of the influence of front-page stories."
          Meyer was sceptical about the power of newspapers, he says, referring to his time in John Major's government.
          "There was a natural courting of those who supported the prime minister to keep them on board," he says.

          Josh Halliday
          Utterly surreal RT : Jay : I'm trying to drill now. Meyer : I'm drilling right now. I'm drilling!


          Guardian Live Blog:
          Meyer admits editors try to influence government policies and appointments. He adds that contacts between politicians and the press "are as old as sin itself".Jay notes: "We may be in the realms of sin because private contacts are anti-democratic."
          Jay asks Meyer a concrete example of private contacts between a prime minister and a proprietor in an attempt to influence policy.
          Meyer says he needed notice of this question "but I can remember people coming in".
          Jay concedes that he should have given Meyer notice of the question.
          Meyer says a privacy law was drafted by the Major government before his time as press secretary. He adds that it was redrafted several times, then shelved, partly because the government did not wasnt to antagonise the press.

          Ross Hawkins
          Meyer at : (on press / pol relations) politicians are grown up, they know with whom they are supping

          Ben Fenton
          Meyer says he was lobbied against a privacy law by a News Int person in Washington before he took up his job in Downing Street.