Confidence in press in 'state of crisis', Ken Clarke warns

Confidence in the press is in "serious crisis" which "needs to be addressed", justice secretary Ken Clarke told the Society of Editors conference today.

Addressing the audience of editors, Clarke called for a "balanced response" and urged journalists "not to underestimate the state of the crisis of confidence" but also to "stop getting paranoid about it".

"There is a great lack of confidence in great institutions. In my trade there is a lack of respect for parliament and politicians, banks and financial institutions plunged to ever greater lows and recent events created a serious crisis of confidence in newspapers.

"Do not underestimate the shocking effect [of recent revelations]," he said.

Clarke added that while the phone-hacking scandal did not surprise him, when responding to the revelations "we must all put ourselves in the shoes of the ordinary member of public who probably was rather surprised".

The justice secretary called for a "balanced conclusion", speaking highly of Lord Leveson who is leading the public inquiry into press standards and ethics, which opened today, adding that the industry must avoid a "knee-jerk reaction".

"We do want some balanced response that restores a good degree of political confidence and is an assistance to all those responsible journalists who know there are lengths beyond which one does not go.

"I have confidence in Brian Leveson. I have no idea what his views are, but I do have a high regard for him as a sensible, reasonable judge new to a lot of these subjects and I think he and his colleagues are going to have to produced a measured response for everyone here."

He added that self-regulation was his "instinct".

"Self-regulation must have more reality. It must work. It must have some powers. Every section of the press must agree to submit itself and its recommendations must have some impact and force."

He added: "The press must be totally free to question, to criticise, to expose … But the rule of law applies to us all. It needs to be confined to what the law must protect."

When asked from the floor by the Sun about introducing the public interest defence to the new Bribery Act, which came into force on 1 July, making it illegal to offer or receive bribes, and to fail to prevent bribery, Clarke repeated that no one is above the law, but that in some cases matters may be "so insignificant that the motive is not dishonest".

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