Senior UK politicians stand up for media freedom

///Senior UK politicians stand up for media freedom

Senior UK politicians stand up for media freedom

Please find below some extracts from Jeremy Wright’s speech at the Global Conference for Media Freedom in London:

Media freedom is not a Western but a universal value. At its best, a free media both protects society from the abuse of power and helps release the full potential of a nation.

The strongest safeguard against the dark side of power is accountability and scrutiny – and few institutions fulfil that role more effectively than a free media.

But a free media does more than just criticize failure and deter wrongdoing: it also nurtures and nourishes the progress of ideas. Throughout history, humanity has achieved its swiftest progress whenever we have allowed ideas to be freely debated, tested and challenged.

In the context of the leaked Sir Kim Darroch cables Boris Johnson said:

It cannot conceivably be right that newspapers or any other media organisation publishing such material face prosecution.

It is the duty of media organisations to bring new and interesting facts into the public domain. That is what they are there for.

Jeremy Wright announces national committee for the safety of journalists:

With rising disinformation and threats against the media, the UK’s strong and independent press is a beacon of freedom that this Government is committed to supporting and preserving.

The Committee will champion journalists’ ability to safely carry out their important roles in society and to continue to hold the powerful to account. This is part of our broader commitment to ensuring the future sustainability of hiqh-quality, public interest news.

2019-07-15T10:06:31+00:00