‘No need for new privacy law’

Bringing in new privacy legislation would not “clarify” the law, according to a parliamentary committee that investigated the issue.

The joint committee on privacy and injunctions, whose findings were published yesterday, came out against introducing a new privacy law, but said the body that replaces the Press Complaints Commission must have more powers.

The industry’s self-regulator will close this year after failing to recover from its decision not to fully investigate phone hacking allegations at the News of the World.

Committee chairman John Whittingdale MP said: “The committee spent some time debating whether additional laws to clarify the right to privacy were necessary or desirable.

“However, we concluded that the existing position – where each case is judged by the courts on an individual basis – is now working reasonably well.”