IPSO’s chairman, Sir Alan Moses, and chief executive, Matt Tee, gave evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee on ‘Dealing with complaints against the press’ on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Sir Alan and Mr Tee answered questions on IPSO’s work, processes and Annual Report and spoke about issues such as independence, funding and due prominence.<\/p>\n
Following the select committee hearing, speaking on Radio 4’s World At One, Moses said IPSO had brought in a new standard of press regulation for their member publishers which include the majority of national and local newspapers and the large magazine publishers.<\/p>\n
He said: “I think every day that we work imposing powers that we have and enforcing obligations that those who have joined us – which is most of the newspapers – must submit to and every day we are requiring them to comply with our requests, deal with complaints and when we uphold a complaint, forcing them – forcing them, it’s the first time that’s ever been done – to publish in the words that we choose. That’s not toothless.<\/p>\n
“The fact that we have that most extreme of powers available, which is something that we think about and which we will use when it’s appropriate to do so.<\/p>\n
“You cannot judge a regulator merely by the fact that is has failed to flex its muscles for the sake of flexing its muscles.”<\/p>\n
Discussing publishers reproducing IPSO’s adjudications, he said: “We’ve taken the view and I still take the view – there are other members of the committee who take a different view – that a forced apology is no apology at all.<\/p>\n
“What matters is that they see the correction in the terms that we dictate that makes it quite clear in what respects the particular newspaper has broken the editor’s code.”<\/p>\n