That is not to say that the present members do not discharge their duties honourably but when trust in our trade and

That is not to say that the present members do not discharge their duties honourably; but when trust in our trade, and confidence in our processes, is diminishing, appearance is all, and any further moves to strengthen the independence of the PCC should be welcomed.I do not, as my critics have suggested, wish to weaken the PCC On the contrary, I would like to see its writ run wider. Moreover, it is not unreasonable to suggest that, in many cases, the ordinary complainant retreats, adopting the position of a weak party recognising the power of a strong party.I also believe that the presence of current editors on the commission (even though lay members outnumber them) undermines the PCC’s assertion that it is “demonstrably independent of the industry”. But those without the means – and the vast majority of cases the PCC rules on are brought by members of the public – have no recourse, no court of appeal. This, of course, means that almost half of those who sought a ruling felt various levels of dissatisfaction. Ms Cox has taken her case to Europe, while the newsreader Anna Ford, another victim of a long-lens holiday snap, went to the High Court to seek judicial review, which she was refused. Already constrained by libel laws and official secrets legislation that often act as an impediment to investigative reporting, further curbs on press freedom serve nobody’s interest and can only harm the democratic fabric of our society That is why there is so much riding on self-regulation. But it is easy to see why he should be so upset by suggestions that self-regulation should be strengthened.

He operates in the most ruthless sector of the world’s most competitive newspaper market, and his job is demanding enough without the attentions of more meddling do-gooders.Yet, as Ian Hargreaves, a former editor of this newspaper, argued on our media pages on Tuesday, public confidence in the press is at a perilously low point, and the inevitable consequence of a further erosion of trust would be to invite legal restraints in the form, say, of a privacy law. It is difficult to pick up a copy of the Mirror and imagine that it was composed to the sound of Mr Morgan’s manacles clanking. If self-regulation is to work, this newspaper has argued consistently, it must be seen to work.I didn’t think my evidence would be greeted warmly within the industry. Roger Alton, the editor of The Observer and a recent appointee to the PCC, said that I “should be taken out and shot” for expressing such heretical opinions, while the garrulous Piers Morgan, the Daily Mirror editor, opined that this was an “extraordinary clarion call to actively seek further shackles on our already massively over-manacled press freedom”. In fact, quite the opposite.
During a select committee hearing on privacy and the press, I explained that I was in favour of an independent press ombudsman, possibly under the umbrella of the new regulator, Ofcom, to act both as a court of appeal for members of the public who feel dissatisfied with a PCC ruling and as a method of holding the PCC up to scrutiny.

But when it comes to the Press Complaints Commission (a watchdog similarly comprised of industry professionals and lay members), we don’t hear quite such a clamour for greater probity. The General Medical Council, the Police Complaints Authority and the Law Society are all bodies routinely, and properly, held to account by journalists. The concessions made by Iraq so far are the best proof that this is not so.. If there is to be a second UN resolution, it should increase the number of inspections, define specific objectives and set deadlines that Iraq must meet.The hawks on the Security Council may object that setting new conditions would simply invite more of the same wrangling that now dogs it.