§ 17. Mr. William Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Employment what representations he has received concerning the freedom of the Press and the closed shop following the recent discussions at the annual conference of the National Union of Journalists.
§ Mr. FootI have received 20 letters written since the National Union of Journalists held its annual conference on the subject of Press freedom and the closed shop, four of which have alluded to decisions reached at the conference.
§ Mr. HamiltonMany hon. Members on both sides of the House are greatly concerned as a consequence of the resolutions passed by that conference. Will my right hon. Friend give an assurance that, as there apparently is to be a recalled conference of the NUJ, he will delay any legislative action in this matter until that conference has been called and has reconsidered its decision?
§ Mr. FootI agree with my hon. Friend that this is an extremely important question. I trust that the decisions of the House of Commons will count finally on this matter. We should not make those decisions dependent on one conference. I cannot give my hon. Friend the undertaking for which he has asked. I believe that when the matter is debated the House of Commons will see that the Government's proposal is a reasonable and sensible way of settling the question. I hope that we shall have the full support of my hon. Friend on that account.
§ Mr. AitkenWill the Secretary of State say whether the vote at the NUJ's Cardiff conference has made a complete shambles of his policy on the closed shop in journalism? Will he now introduce amendments to the Bill which will preserve and safeguard free access to the Press for everybody, whether people belong to a union or not? Secondly, will he introduce amendments to ensure 1208 that editorial independence is also preserved?
§ Mr. FootAll those matters will be dealt with when we come to discuss fully in the House of Commons what we shall do. I regret that the NUJ conference at Cardiff should have turned down the idea of a discussion about a Press charter, just as I regretted it when the editors turned down the same proposition a week or two before. Therefore, I think that we must deal with a situation in which the editors, the proprietors, and the NUJ at its conference have so far shown themselves as not moving towards what we would think of as the best solution of the matter. However, I glad to see that there are moves within the NUJ to make a wiser approach in the matter. I hope that the editors and the proprietors will show the same confidence.