Lord Hunt of Wirral named chairman of Press Complaints Commission

PCC’s new chairman is Conservative peer, and former MP, with experience in regulatory affairs Lord Hunt of Wirral, who served in government under Margaret Thatcher and John Major, has been named as the next chairman of the Press Complaints Commission (PCC). The 69-year-old Conservative peer and former MP will take over from Baroness Buscombe on 17 October. Hunt is also a lawyer specialising in regulatory affairs, with political links and specialist expertise deemed attractive for the £170,000 a year job. Lord Hunt signalled that his chairmanship would not just amount to business as usual. He said that he hoped to lead “wholesale regeneration and renewal of the system of independent self-regulation of the press”. Critics have argued that the PCC is a better mediator rather than an effective regulator. He added: “There is a real appetite for change, however, and it is my intention to drive forward the creation of a reinvigorated and respected standards body, funded by the industry but operationally independent from both the industry and the state.” Interviews were held by the Press Standards Board of Finance, which is chaired by Lord Black of Brentwood, the former spokesman for Michael Howard when he was leader of the Conservative party – who now works for the publishers of the Daily and Sunday Telegraph. Lord Black said: “David Hunt’s wide-ranging experience in politics, in the law and in regulation and above all his unshakeable commitment to the principles of press freedom and self-regulation make him the ideal person to lead the process of renewal and regeneration which is now essential.” David Hunt was a member of the Thatcher and Major cabinets for five years from 1990, as Welsh secretary, then employment secretary and finally chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, where he co-ordinated government policy. He stepped down in 1995 and lost his Wirral West seat in 1997. He rejoined the Conservative front bench to shadow Lord Mandelson in the upper house, but did not get a government appointment when the coalition was formed, and returned to legal practice. • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly “for publication”. • To get the latest media news to your desktop or mobile, follow MediaGuardian on Twitter and Facebook Press Complaints Commission Newspapers & magazines Press freedom National newspapers Newspapers Dan Sabbagh guardian.co.uk

Posted by on October 13, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.