THE STRUCTURE OF CONTROLS ON THE INVASION OF PRIVACY BY THE PRESS Available to Purchase

This paper examines the historical and contemporary background to the vexed question of control of the press. Consideration of the Younger Report on Privacy (1972) and the Royal Commission on the Press (1977), both of which were critical of the role of the Press Council, is set against the circulation battles of Fleet Street in the 1980s. Some of the worst excesses of recent cases are considered and the whole put into the context of the Calcutt Report (1990). The role of the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) is considered and the advantages and disadvantages of a statutory restriction on the press through legislation is examined. It is concludcd that, despite weaknesses in the present system, the preferred option is for self‐regulation.