Press freedom: it was Spectator readers wot won it

A few months ago, The Spectator sought the help of readers in defending press freedom. Theresa May’s government was consulting on whether to press ahead with a draconian new law that would make publications like ours liable for the costs of anyone who wanted to sue us, for whatever reason. The law, a hangover from the Leveson Inquiry, was intended as a way of bullying titles into signing up to Impress, a would-be press regulator bankrolled by the egregious Max Mosley.

The legislation in question – Section 40 of the Crime & Courts Act – had been put out to consultation by the Culture Secretary and such things are often a numbers game. The enemies of press freedom – Hacked Off and Tom Watson etc – were getting ready and marshalling plenty of responses to the consultation saying. But newspapers were not doing likewise. It’s not in their nature to beg the Prime Minister for their freedom: they thought (quite rightly) that such freedom is not hers to give.