LONDON, (Reuters) – Britain’s press watchdog confirmed yesterday it was disbanding, a move seen as inevitable after the self-regulating body lost almost all credibility for failing to address a phone-hacking scandal at one of Rupert Murdoch’s British papers.
The Press Complaints Commission (PCC), funded by the industry and whose members include serving editors, had been lambasted by politicians and celebrities who argued it was toothless.
Set up 21 years ago, it had not been expected to survive a wide-ranging public inquiry into press ethics ordered by Prime Minister David Cameron following the outcry over phone-hacking at the now defunct News of the World tabloid.
Following a meeting on Thursday, the PCC announced it would press ahead urgently with plans to close itself down and set up a transitional arrangement to prepare the way for a new regulator, although no timetable was disclosed.
When the phone-hacking scandal engulfed News International, the British newspaper arm of Murdoch’s News Corp last July, the PCC was heavily condemned for having done nothing to address previous concerns.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said the PCC was “busted” and needed to be replaced, while opposition Labour leader Ed Miliband called it a “toothless poodle”.
Despite protestations from some editors and publishers that the existing system could be reformed, the judge overseeing the public inquiry provoked by the scandal indicated in January he expected a complete overhaul.
