Freedom of speech is non-negotiable

Abstract

Baroness Peta Buscombe, the newly appointed chairman of the Press Complaints Commission, clarifies the role of the PCC in the light of recent criticisms. She argues that the PCC was not set up as a “general regulator of all press behaviour” but that it was “primarily meant to deal with issues, both ethical and practical, that the law cannot capture. It therefore complements the law rather than competes with it. The PCC is at heart a complaints resolution and adjudication process”. She also explains how she has initiated a review of the Commission’s governance structures, which will be a “thorough, fundamental look at how the PCC matches up to the challenges posed by the media in the 21st century”.