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No Leveson-style review for Northern Ireland says British government

DUP MP Ian Paisley and culture secretary Matt Hancock in the Commons on Wednesday
DUP MP Ian Paisley and culture secretary Matt Hancock in the Commons on Wednesday DUP MP Ian Paisley and culture secretary Matt Hancock in the Commons on Wednesday

THE British government has moved to clarify suggestions in the House of Commons that it is planning a review of press standards in Northern Ireland.

Responding to question from DUP MP Ian Paisley, culture secretary Matt Hancock on Wednesday said they planned to have a "named person review the standards of the press in Northern Ireland".

It came just before the government, backed by the DUP, narrowly saw off an attempt to implement a second stage of the Leveson inquiry into media ethics, dubbed 'Leveson Two'.

The development was welcomed by North Antrim MP Mr Paisley, who described it as a "Leveson for Northern Ireland".

Other MPs expressed surprise and the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) called for "absolute clarity" on the scope and nature of any review.

However, the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) yesterday clarified that there is no general review planned for the north into press standards.

Rather, the review referred to is UK-wide and specifically relates to examining media compliance with new data protection regulations, and is to be undertaken by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

Although Mr Hancock referred to having a "named person" for Northern Ireland, there will also be an individual appointed for Scotland, and separately England and Wales.

They will each complete an interim report which will feed into the overall ICO review.

In a statement a DCMS said: "Within this ICO review, or aligned to it, we will make sure there is an independent named reviewer for Northern Ireland."

The review was among the government amendments approved for the Data Protection Bill.

Former Labour leader Ed Miliband led moves to amend the bill to establish a statutory inquiry dubbed 'Leveson Two', but this was rejected by 304 votes to 295 when pushed to a vote in the Commons.

The Leveson inquiry was set up in 2011 in the wake of a phone-hacking scandal that led to the closure of the News of the World.

Mr Paisley, who has previously claimed his phone was hacked, told MPs the media in Northern Ireland were "exempt from proper scrutiny by Leveson".

Several people from the north gave evidence to the inquiry in 2012, including former PSNI chief constables Matt Baggott and Sir Hugh Orde, and Irish News editor Noel Doran.

NUJ assistant general secretary Séamus Dooley said the "confused manner" of the mention of Northern Ireland on Wednesday "suggests that the proposal has not been properly thought out and may be motivated by political expediency".

"If there is to be an inquiry into the press in Northern Ireland let it be independent, meaningful and worthwhile. It cannot simply be a sop to those who may have an axe to grind," he said.

There was further confusion on Wednesday after the BBC's website reported that the review was about "press relations with the police in Northern Ireland", although there was no reference to police in the DCMS statement.

This line was later removed, but the BBC Northern Ireland section still carried a headline yesterday that read: "Review of press relations with PSNI."

The BBC did not respond last night to requests for a comment.