Hit or miss? Hacked Off pressures politicians to agree deal on press regulation

During the past week, the group made splashes with a leaked press release shaming politicians for their ‘connivance’ with the press, while Hugh Grant (pictured) told The Andrew Marr Show that Hacked Off campaigners were ‘a few dandruffy professors sitting in a cheap office’.

HOW I SEE IT...

Helen Wharton, senior consultant, Champollion

As the three main political parties reached a deal on press regulation this week, the role of campaign group Hacked Off has dominated media commentary.

Lord Leveson’s recommendations failed to go as far as many would like, and Hacked Off has had to come to terms with even less in the final agreement. Media reaction to the group has been frequently hostile, not helped by the chaotic politics of recent days: talks on, talks off and, finally, Labour and the Liberal Democrats winning more than the Tories have.

However, one thing we know about the deal being struck is that Hacked Off was in the room – a real achievement for a campaign group in such a difficult context. Lobbying is a complex business, and although Hacked Off may not have got all it wanted, it got more than we might have expected a week ago.

This article was first published on prweek.com