Sir Christopher Meyer: Freedom of the press is gradually being eroded by the government

Sir Christopher Meyer: Freedom of the press is gradually being eroded by the government

Sir Christopher Meyer, chairman of the Press Complaints Commission who caused controversy by publishing his memoirs about his time as the UK's ambassador to Washington, warned last night that freedom of the press was being gradually chipped away by the government. He said the breakdown in communication between the government and newspapers was unhealthy for democracy.

"I believe the boundaries of freedom of expression seem to be closing in a bit on newspapers and magazines in a way which may not be healthy," said Sir Christopher, who has been head of the self-regulatory body for almost four years and survived repeated calls for his resignation last November. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, I don't believe in government plotting to curb freedom of expression," he said. "But when you read that after two years, there are proposals to make it more difficult to obtain information under the Freedom of Information Act, you have to worry."

Press freedom being eaten away, says watchdog chief (The Guardian, 14 November 2006)