View all newsletters
Sign up for our free email newsletters

Fighting for quality news media in the digital age.

  1. Archive content
August 31, 2006updated 22 Nov 2022 8:49pm

Government will give notice of inquests that bar the press

By Press Gazette

In a victory for the Newspaper Society, the Government has accepted the media should be given notice of any intention to exclude press and public from public inquiries or deny them access to documents and evidence.

This is despite the absence of any formal provision to that effect within the Inquiries Act 2005 or the new Inquiries Rules 2006.

Under the Inquiries Act 2005, ministers and inquiry chairmen can issue restriction notices to exclude press and public from an inquiry or to withhold documents and evidence from disclosure and publication. The Inquiries Rules, which deal with procedural matters, came into force on 1 August.

Government response to the consultation published said that although it had decided against the inclusion of any formal procedure for advance media notification of restriction notice applications and the grounds for such applications (as the NS had suggested), it envisages that the media should be given such notice.

This statement is consistent with correspondence between the Department of Constitutional Affairs and the NS during the passage of the Bill.

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Baroness Ashton assured the society that she fully expected that the media and the public should have the right to make representations about the issuing of restriction notices, and that there was nothing in the Bill to prevent this.

Content from our partners
MHP Group's 30 To Watch awards for young journalists open for entries
How PA Media is helping newspapers make the digital transition
Publishing on the open web is broken, how generative AI could help fix it

Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog

Select and enter your email address Weekly insight into the big strategic issues affecting the future of the news industry. Essential reading for media leaders every Thursday. Your morning brew of news about the world of news from Press Gazette and elsewhere in the media. Sent at around 10am UK time. Our weekly does of strategic insight about the future of news media aimed at US readers. A fortnightly update from the front-line of news and advertising. Aimed at marketers and those involved in the advertising industry.
  • Business owner/co-owner
  • CEO
  • COO
  • CFO
  • CTO
  • Chairperson
  • Non-Exec Director
  • Other C-Suite
  • Managing Director
  • President/Partner
  • Senior Executive/SVP or Corporate VP or equivalent
  • Director or equivalent
  • Group or Senior Manager
  • Head of Department/Function
  • Manager
  • Non-manager
  • Retired
  • Other
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
Thank you

Thanks for subscribing.

Websites in our network