Lord Black of Brentwood (Con)

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Baroness. She and I probably have not always agreed on everything, but I echo every word that she said today. I have thought long and hard about whether to take part in this debate, but as it touches on two subjects very close to my heart—the sustainability of an independent free press and, in practical terms, the future of the Telegraph Media Group—I concluded that it would be irresponsible not to do so. Let me declare my interests—and I mean that in the broadest possible sense. First, I hope that all noble Lords will recognise my unwavering commitment to press and media freedom, a cause that I have championed passionately for three decades. I have stood up consistently and robustly for it in this House, even when it has been deeply unpopular and unfashionable to do so, and I would never support anything that I believed would damage it. I stood almost alone in opposing the imposition of statutory controls in the Crime and Courts Act 2013, and what became Section 40. I campaigned for 11 years for its repeal, in the teeth of opposition from the Liberal Democrat Benches. I note with some irony, given that they have such a track record, that they are putting forward this fatal amendment today in the name of press freedom, and we should not fall for it. Secondly, I have worked for the Telegraph Media Group for exactly 20 years this September, which is half my working life. I love the Telegraph, and the protection and promotion of its safety, security, editorial independence and freedom, and sustainability are etched into my DNA. I would never do anything to compromise that, and I declare my interest as its deputy chairman. It is for both those reasons, philosophical and practical, that I make these few remarks. The news publishing industry in the UK does face— I will be the third person to say it—an existential crisis. We all know the reasons: the impact of digital and the voracious appetite of unaccountable, unregulated platforms have put enormous pressure on the revenues of all publishers. Tragically, many titles have closed, particularly in the local press, with thousands of reporters’ jobs lost. The future of many others hangs in the balance, and the analysis put forward by my noble friend Lady Stowell is absolutely spot on. The implications for our democracy are profound. The situation has been made worse by the decisions of this Parliament; in particular, the data Act, which we have, with some reluctance, just passed. While publishers are fighting hard to remodel their businesses and build new revenues, the exponential growth of AI, unrestrained by effective copyright law, threatens the very future of all news brands, as I have pointed out with perhaps monotonous repetition in this House.