Culture secretary seeks clarification on Scots media regulation

by Hope Webb

Scotland's culture secretary has said the government will seek agreement over the regulation of press in the country.

Fiona Hyslop told MSPs that ministers favoured a self-regulatory approach.

Fiona Hyslop seeks clarification on what new regulation laws could mean for Scotland. (Image courtesy of The Guardian)

In England and Wales there is a new arangement to set up an independent regulator using a royal charter, but it is not clear where Scotland comes into the deal.

Holyrood's Education and Culture Committee will examine what the charter could mean in practice in Scotland.

The changes to press regulation stem from the Leveson Inquiry, which was called to analyse the standards of the press in the wake of the phone hacking scandal.

Lord McCluskey was asked to look at the Leveson Inquiry report, where he concluded that a voluntary code was unlikely to work.

Opposition parties wanted an urgent debate on the McCluskey Report, but Ms Hyslop said it should wait until the middle of April so cross-party discussions can take place over the royal charter proposals.

First Minister Alex Salmond told the BBC: "We have sought clarification from the UK government that they have properly considered Scottish responsibilities.

"I have invited them to Scotland to discuss their approach with the leaders of all parties.”

Newspapers such as The Daily Mail, The Sun and The Daily Telegraph made clear their aversion to the proposals earlier this week.