Press needs an ombudsman, editor tells MPs

A committee of MPs investigating abuses of privacy by the media was told yesterday that an ombudsman should be appointed to monitor the official press watchdog.

Simon Kelner, editor-in-chief of The Independent and The Independent on Sunday, criticised the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) for being toothless, lacking transparency and not being trusted by the public. He attacked the industry-appointed watchdog for its lack of response to "scandalous" stories such as the News of the World's "name and shame" campaign on paedophiles.

Mr Kelner singled out Guy Black, the PCC's director, for personal criticism, questioning his close ties to the Royal Family and to the News of the World, "Britain's most-complained about newspaper". The comments to the Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport appear to show a split between broadsheet and tabloid editors, who have defended the existing system in evidence to MPs.

Mr Kelner told the committee: "We've got to go some way to making the industry more trustworthy in the eyes of the public. There are elements of the press that disturb me greatly and I don't blame people for not finding them trustworthy."

He suggested that an ombudsman would act as a "court of appeal" and should be created "under the umbrella" of Ofcom, the Government's communications watchdog.

Mr Kelner said: "I don't have any problem with their being some sort of press ombudsman, if you like, who sits above the PCC ... because I think there are real problems with the PCC."

In an outspoken attack on Mr Black, Mr Kelner said: "How can you have confidence in a PCC whose director lives with someone who's very close to Prince Charles, who goes on holiday with the editor of the most-complained about newspaper in Britain, and does his first interview in seven years [last] Monday, just before he announces he's about to leave the job?"

Mr Kelner criticised the reactive nature of the PCC, and said the watchdog should have taken a "proactive" role in responding to recent stories attacking the television presenters John Leslie and Matthew Kelly, and to hostile coverage of asylum-seekers.

He said: "We saw in the Prince Harry drugs bust that [the PCC] were quite capable of being proactive. I think they should have been proactive on the News of the World naming and shaming campaign." He said he "could not see why working editors should serve" on the PCC and advocated their replacement with respected former editors, who were more likely to be free of "tribal loyalties".

¿ The Government gave an assurance that it will block any attempt to end the system of self-regulation of newspapers under the PCC.

In the third reading of the Communications Bill last night, Patricia Hewitt, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, said that "nothing in this Bill will allow censorship of the press".

Labour backbenchers attempted to introduce an amendment that would bring the PCC under the control of Ofcom.