House of Lords could defeat government over Leveson 2 calls
2 min read
The House of Lords could inflict yet another defeat on the Government, this time on calls for a second phase of the Leveson inquiry into media standards.
Crossbench peer Baroness Hollins is set to table a fresh amendment to the Data Protection Bill calling for so-called 'Leveson 2'.
MPs narrowly defeated calls led by former Labour leader Ed Miliband for the next part of the probe - which was promised by David Cameron - to be established.
Speaking to The Guardian, Baroness Hollins said there was "a certain amount of outrage" in the Lords over the Commons vote.
With the opposition having a clear majority in the upper chamber, it is highly likely that any vote there would see the Government lose.
That would come hard on the heels of the 14 defeats the Lords inflicted on ministers over their flagship EU Withdrawal Bill.
It would also set up a fresh Commons battle over Leveson 2, with its supporters piling fresh pressure on MPs to support it.
Speaking in the Commons debate on the issue on Wednesday, Mr Miliband said: "This is about our honour. This is a matter of honour about the promise we made."
But a Downing Street spokesman has said the Government is bitterly opposed to a fresh probe.
"Almost £50m of public money has already been spent on investigating phone-hacking, and establishing a further public inquiry requiring great time and expense is not a proportionate solution to allegations which have already been the subject of several extensive police investigations," he said.
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