ABSTRACT
In this chapter I will review the role of the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) in its administration of the industry’s Code of Practice with special reference to the regional and local press. The statistical data which I present cover both types of newspaper but most of the illustrative case material included relates to complaints about the local press. I have served as a member of the Commission since it was established in 1991. I was appointed Privacy Commissioner in 1994 with special responsibility for expediting investigations into complaints that come within this area of the Commission’s remit. The responsibility for adjudicating on privacy complaints, however, rests with the full Commission under its Chairman, Lord Wakeham, as is the case with all other complaints received and processed. I have taken this opportunity to express some personal views about the issues of privacy, bias and accuracy in local press reporting. Nevertheless, I have no reason to believe that they differ in any significant degree from those which inform the work of the Commission.
