Conservative MP for Surrey Heath and Education Secretary at the time of the Inquiry. A former journalist at the Aberdeen Press and Journal, the Times, the BBC and the Spectator. Told the Inquiry that sometimes "individuals reach for regulation in order to deal with failures of character or morality, and sometimes that regulation is right and appropriate but some of us believe that before the case for regulation is made, the case for liberty needs to be asserted as well".
Activist for the Occupy London movement, which had camped outside St Paul's Cathedral until evicted in February 2012. The movement campaigned for a new political and economic system that would put people, democracy and the environment before profit. He spelt out his reasons for occupying and objected to the press's use of the term "anti-capitalist"; personally, he said, he was anti-neoliberal, anti-corruption and pro-ecological, but not anti-capitalist.
Centre-left political party in the UK, including social-democratic, democratic-socialist and trade-unionist outlooks. Harriet Harman QC MP presented the party's written evidence for the future of the press, presenting comprehensive options. She identified two deep-rooted problems: lack of redress for complaints and concentration of ownership. Summarised three options and the party's views on their strengths and weaknesses: a contractual system under a new PCC, a voluntary system with incentives, and statutory arrangements (for which, she said, a YouGov poll found 62 per cent support).
