Thursday 4 April 2013

Leveson, Regulation, Exemplary Damages & the Railway Press

One for Messrs Jackson, Briginshaw, Abbott, Preston, Harris (both), Pigott, Jack, Abell, Dunn, Jones, Milne, etc... to mull over.

With a bowler tip to the latest issue of Private Eye for highlighting this part of the debate on Awards of exemplary damages in relation to the Royal Charter regulating the press:

Richard Bacon (South Norfolk, Conservative)
One could easily envisage a railway enthusiasts’ magazine which had a range of authors whose material was subject to editorial control but which many people would nevertheless consider to be a hobby magazine. It would fall outside the regime because it was aimed solely at enthusiasts. What would happen, however, if such a magazine were to get hold of some information, perhaps confidential information, about High Speed 2? Would it then be caught by the regime? Does my right hon. Friend not see the path that she is going down?

Maria Miller (Basingstoke, Conservative)
We have clearly set out the direction that we are going in, and it is there in the information for my hon. Friend to read. Ultimately, the court will decide whether any particular issues fall near the line. If a publication is concerned about whether it would be caught by the new regime, it can of course seek legal advice, but we have done a great deal to make this clear to individual publications.


Hmmm...

Eye suggests doing like the Speccie and just saying NO! 


Thameslink fleet - latest deadline passed

Good news for fans of Whitehall rolling stock procurement!

This from yesterday's Derby Telegraph...

In an interview with the Derby Telegraph in January, Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said he expected the £1.4 billion deal to be signed off with winning bidder Siemens "by the end of March".

But moving into April, the deal for 1,200 carriages still remains unsigned.


Just fancy that!