UK Press regulation ideas published

The chairman of the UK industry body that funds existing press regulation said that a revamped Press Complaints Commission should be able to levy fines of up to £1 million on errant publishers. The proposal by Lord Black of Brentwood was one of a score of submissions released in the final days of the Leveson inquiry into press standards and behavior. They came from groups and individuals all suggesting ways to replace the now-suspended PCC in the wake of the phone hacking scandal. The submissions differed mostly on the degree to which outside influence – including statutory measures passed by parliament – is needed to ensure participation in a new system or guarantee investigative and punitive functions of the new regulator.