§ Mr. McNultyTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department, what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government towards the recommendations of the National Heritage Committee in its second report of Session 1996–97, "Press Activity Affecting Court Cases"—HC 86. [31327]
§ Mr. HoonThe Government are committed to obtaining an appropriate balance between the due administration of justice, on the one hand, and freedom of speech, on the other. They have concluded that the Committee's recommendations maintain that balance and have therefore accepted them in principle.
The report recommended that there should be legislation forbidding payments to witnesses; and that section 2 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 should be strengthened so that it covers the collective and cumulative effect of pre-trial publicity in risking prejudicing a trial, as well as the effect of individual articles. This means that newspapers could not escape liability, as one case held they could, because a number of them had acted in a similar way and together had caused the prejudice.
Work is proceeding on the form that the necessary legislation should take. It will be brought forward when a suitable opportunity is found.