Max Clifford: Newspapers Supressing Public Interest Stories

Max Clifford

The Huffington Post UK   Dina Rickman First Posted: 30/01/2012 17:29 Updated: 30/01/2012 17:34

Public interest stories have been suppressed in the last six months because of the Leveson inquiry into media standards, PR guru Max Clifford has said.

Giving evidence to a parliamentary committee on privacy and injunctions, Clifford told MPs and peers that newspaper editors were "far more cautious" about all stories, adding "there definitely has been a change."

"Leveson has made a difference", he said. "I'm aware of many, many stories which would have made the tabloid front pages in the last six months that haven't been anywhere.

Asked by Conservative MP Nadhim Zahawi if he believed that included public interest stories, Clifford said "yes."

Phil Hall, the former editor of the News of the World, giving evidence alongside Clifford, said papers were now "following live news stories rather than digging out their own."

Clifford also said he had never known the PCC to "help" anybody. Citing Robert Murat, the man falsely accused of kidnapping Madeleine McCann, Clifford said the press had printed "a load of lies" to sell papers.

"The Press Complaints Commission was nowhere to be seen," he claimed. "They're not independent."

"If one good thing comes out of all of this, it is if we have a press complaints body, truly independent, that is there for the British public... before anybody destroys them in the papers," Clifford added.

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Public interest stories have been suppressed in the last six months because of the Leveson inquiry into media standards, PR guru Max Clifford has said. Giving evidence to a parliamentary committee ...
Public interest stories have been suppressed in the last six months because of the Leveson inquiry into media standards, PR guru Max Clifford has said. Giving evidence to a parliamentary committee ...
 
 
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10:34 PM on 02/04/2012
Max Clifford: is Supressing Stories to the press 'public interest every time l know been there with him
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Itsbeenalongday
Eliminating poverty is smart business
04:21 AM on 01/31/2012
There will always be a gutter press.
12:38 AM on 01/31/2012
Surely such acts of media suppression were expected? The first “Official Secrets Act of 1889” was limited to 100 years which expired in 1989, coincidentally being the year of the creation of the “1989 Official Secrets Act”. The second Official Secrets Act of 1911 expired in 2011, coincidentally during the creation of this Leverson Inquiry, preceding an impending legislation of suppression of the media, internet &c., obviously a creation of yet another Official Secrets Act, so near to the previous one, would seem controversial.
Suppression of what is, or is not in the “Public Interest,” is determined under the rules of “Public Interest Immunity.” An order that PII applies would usually be sought by the British government to protect official secrets, and so can be perceived as a gagging order. Where a minister believes that PII applies, he signs a PII certificate, which then allows the court to make the final decision on whether the balance of public interest was in favour of disclosure or not. Generally, courts allow PII without inspecting the documents.
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09:46 PM on 01/30/2012
"Man who works for tabloids, says something to defend tabloids - SHOCKER"

Full exclusive inside (although we'll never find out about any of these unknown, 'public interest stories', clearly)
10:53 PM on 01/30/2012
And, if those public interest stories were collected using methods that are entirely legal and utterly above board, one would have to wonder how or why an inquiry into widespread press misconduct should have any bearing at all.....
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08:47 PM on 01/30/2012
So says he.
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08:46 PM on 01/30/2012
Hmmm...Hey, Modest Squad of all. Are you directed? This secton seems a bit light on the latest.

Now, at the US sight, I was banned for three days for teasing the mods because it soon became evident no one was to whisper a word of comment informing the readers the new French HuffPo editor's husband was, well, you know. Then the Guardian told me his PR firm, Euro RSCG, managed the launch. Were they managing the mods, because I showered the entire three days.

The European and British press had been swimming in this story and several others surrounding yet ANOTHER sex scandal pulling in lots of French pols and DSK, too. Who knew? Not a US Huff Po reader. I found out while I was banned in the jolly British press, but not while in the shower.

I campaigned vigorously for A to give us a fat section like the Guardian's to follow this tale of crumbs and crumpets, but this, the coverage - not the mods work, is pretty light fare.

This is the best out of Britian in the last two days when I've learned all about what Database 3 means technically? Technically, NewsCorp has given away News International's entire data store to the police. Database three is that accumulated state of many seperate data bases capapble of deltion, incertion and modification that will translate to all data involved. The whole enchilada with the ability to discover what deletions were made. Bad day at Mudrock
08:03 PM on 01/30/2012
Lets be frank, if this bottom crawler is upset - the inquiry must be doing something right.....
07:31 PM on 01/30/2012
The man for whom no news is bad news.I have never understood why the media indulges this man so much. If his clients wont talk directly to the media, then ignore Clifford.
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jacksdad41
Quant Je Puis
06:05 PM on 01/30/2012
In other words Cliffords appointment book has gaps
06:04 PM on 01/30/2012
Maybe stories are drying up because they're not able to hack into people's phones anymore.
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Dan Crabtree
05:58 PM on 01/30/2012
I do know there have been several news articles on reverse racisim crimes that the papers will not publish including numerous vicious murders..yet these are deemed hands off from all the leading news channels and papers..Most people have no real idea of the censorship that now occurs every day in this nation..