Ed Miliband has vowed the ‘battle goes on’ to secure a second Leveson inquiry in defiance of last night’s vote by MPs.
The ex-Labour leader was humiliated by the Commons after he made an emotional plea for the Government to U-turn on its cancellation of a renewed probe.
Mr Miliband was defeated in the lobbies when he tried to re-write the Data Protection Bill to force ministers to commission a new inquiry into newspapers’ behaviour.
The House of Lords could return to the issue as MPs deleted a clause in the bill specifying an inquiry should be held – meaning peers could force MPs to think again.
Ex-Labour leader Ed Miliband was humiliated by the Commons after he made an emotional plea for the Government to U-turn on its cancellation of a renewed probe
Miliband has vowed the ‘battle goes on’ to secure a second Leveson inquiry in defiance of last night’s vote by MPs
Labour’s attempt to crackdown on the press would make investigative journalism ‘near impossible’, the Culture Secretary Matt Hancock (pictured in the Commons today) warned
After he was defeated Mr MIiliband said: ‘Very disappointed for the victims of phone-hacking and press abuse that we did not win the vote for Leveson 2.
‘The battle goes on to keep our promise to them to get the truth they deserve and protection for victims in the future.’
Following the Commons vote last night, Culture Secretary Matt Hancock tweeted: ‘A great day for a free and fair press. We will work with closely IPSO [the press regulator] to make sure their important work continues.’
Before the vote, Mr Hancock had earlier warned the Labour attempt to strangle the ‘free and fair’ press would kill off investigative journalism in Britain.
And MPs lined up to defend the Press, with Tory Jacob Rees-Mogg hailing newspapers as ‘overwhelmingly precious’.
He said: ‘The freedom of the Press is so overwhelmingly precious, that we should preserve it, even if sometimes the Press upsets us.
‘It is amazing how many people who have had run-ins with the Press have suddenly found that they think it should be more tightly regulated.’
When the vote finally came at 4pm, Mr MIliband’s plan to force the second phase of inquiry failed 304 votes to 295, majority 9.
The failure to rally enough votes saw Labour deputy leader Tom Watson pull his own plans to force through punitive damages on newspapers – via the so-called section 40 law passed after Leveson one – after it became clear it would be defeated.
He had drawn up an amendment to try to force newspapers t o join the statebacked regulator Impress.
Those who refused would have to pay the entire legal costs whenever somebody sued them – even if they won the case.
Critics had warned the move would have a chilling effect on the media – undermining investigative journalism and hitting titles with such punitive costs it could force their closure.
Mr Miliband gesticulated wildly in the Commons as he claimed the failure to call the second round of the inquiry was a breach of ‘honour’
Mr Miliband’s new clause, which would have led to Leveson part two, was rejected
After the vote, the University of Kent’s Professor of Journalism, Tim Luckhurst, tweeted: ‘I am delighted that @hackinginquiry’s appalling amendments were defeated in the Commons today.
‘Were they ever to return, Britain’s reputation as a bastion of free speech and a champion of democracy would be shattered. A free press serves us all.’
Mr Hancock, opening the debate , said proposed new clauses would mean newspapers would risk having to pay costs even if a story was accurate and in the public interest.
He warned that the clauses would make it ‘near impossible’ to uncover stories of abuse as he highlighted the work of The Times’ chief investigative reporter Andrew Norfolk, who uncovered the Rotherham child abuse scandal.
Mr Hancock said he wanted a free press that can ‘hold the powerful to account’ but also one that is fair.
‘While I want to see a press that is free to report without fear or favour, and to uncover wrongdoing and to hold the powerful to account, I also want to see a press that is fair and accurate too.
‘I am determined that we have a system that is strengthened so people have recourse to justice when things go wrong.’
He said regulator Ipso had recently brought in a system of ‘compulsory low cost arbitration’ which means ‘ordinary people’ can take claims to newspapers for a minimum of £50.
Mr Miliband launched a furious attack on the Government for not moving forward with Leveson two.
He told ministers that their actions had been ‘contemptible’.
After quoting then Prime Minister David Cameron who had pledged to launch the second part of the inquiry in 2012, Mr Miliband said: ‘No ifs, no buts, no maybes, a clear promise and a promise to victims, a promise to victims of the press and here we come along today and we have the Government saying ‘let’s dump this promise, it’s too expensive, it’s a distraction’.
‘How dare they, how dare they to the McCanns, the Dowlers, all those other victims. How can we be here, I say to members across this House whatever party they are in, this is about our honour.
‘This is a matter of honour about the promise we made.’
Sir Brian Leveson published the first phase of his inquiry in November 2012. The Government has cancelled the second part
Tory rebels – led by father of the House Ken Clarke – could not prevent the move from failing