THE HOUSE OF LORDS have dealt yet another potential blow to Theresa May’s government after the voted to overturn the decision made by MPs in the House of Commons, which will force the government to reconsider part two of the Leveson Inquiry. Theresa May and her small minority government propped up by the DUP have faced multiple Brexit setbacks due to the Lords and now they cause more headaches for the government by potentially forcing the much needed Leveson part two.
They voted to establish a fresh Leveson-style public inquiry into the conduct of the media, overturning a decision made by MPs last week and setting up another showdown with the government.
The Lords vote for Leveson II
The vote wasn’t as close as what was in the Commons as 252 peers voted in favour whilst 213 voted against an amendment which called for a full investigation into unlawful conduct by newspapers, the misuse of data by social media companies and the relations between the press and the police. Interestingly the part about the misuse of data by social media is a new aspect added by the amendment as this was not previously present on the inquiry.
The crossbench peer Lady Hollins who moved the amendment stated that, “It’s an inquiry into criminality, corruption and abuse”. Last week ministers saw off a bid to force them to implement a second stage of the Leveson inquiry into press standards where the government won by 304 votes to 295.
The result of the vote does put the unelected chamber of the Lords at odds with the government and are set to be on course for yet another constitutional clash.
Previously, Liam Fox, who is a keen Brexit supporter, went on the BBC and was adamant that the Lords shouldn't be standing in the way of the 'democratic will of the British people'.
This came shortly after a string of three defeats by the Lords over Brexit. Theresa May had urged the Lords to reject the second part of the Leveson with Culture Secretary Matt Hancock claiming that they were voting against press freedoms. The initial findings from the first part of the Leveson Inquiry found The 2,000-page final report was published on 29 November 2012, along with a 48-page executive summary. Leveson found that the existing Press Complaints Commission is not sufficient, and recommends a new independent body, which would have a range of sanctions available.
