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Success of Parliamentary Reception galvanises publishing industry

24th November 2010

The All Party Parliamentary Group on Publishing staged its annual Parliamentary Reception on Wednesday 24th November at the Houses of Parliament. Guest speaker Sir Christopher Meyer joined the proceedings for an evening of lively discussion and networking amongst MPs, Lords and publishers.

The Reception, in collaboration with The Publishers Association and hosted by the Chair of the All Party Group, Gordon Banks MP, was a huge success in promoting the valuable contributions of the publishing industry and its historic ties with the political sphere.

The theme of the event, political memoirs, encapsulates the link between the publishing and political sectors and was highlighted by the guest speaker, Sir Christopher Meyer, author of the highly-acclaimed and politically explosive memoir DC Confidential. The book offered an account of the Blair administration in the lead-up to the Iraq war, and led to claims of breaching trust, resulting in Sir Christopher being asked to provide evidence at the Commons Select Committee on Public Administration.

Gordon Banks MP began the proceedings by emphasising the importance of the publishing industry, its economic and social contributions to the UK and the All Party Group’s dedication to highlighting issues of concern to the industry within Parliament.  He was followed by President of The Publishers Association Victoria Barnsley, who pointed out the significant influence that books exert across a range of genres, and reiterated the importance of copyright to incentivise creativity as publishers progress towards the digital age. She welcomed the recent announcement from Government to review current IP laws, advocating it as a significant opportunity for The Publishers Association and its members to promote the benefits of copyright in driving innovation and rewarding creativity.

Sir Christopher Meyer then took to the podium, initially pointing out that his book had actually started out as a “diplomatic” memoir. “It only became political later on,” he commented. This led on to his lively and highly entertaining descriptions of the genesis of DC Confidential, the writing process behind it and its far-reaching ramifications. Sir Christopher discussed the role that his publishers had played in offering advice and support as the book was written and related anecdotes of the various reactions to the book’s publication. This included John Prescott’s infamous description of Sir Christopher as a ‘red-socked fop’, a name that Prescott alleged had been devised by Sir Christopher’s colleagues in Washington, though Sir Christopher claimed that Prescott has since confessed that it was his own creation.

The crux of Sir Christopher’s talk was his emphasis on freedom of expression. He ended the talk by signing a note of caution on the way his book had been treated, and pointing out that there was need to protect an author’s freedom to create new works and have the right to express viewpoints without fear of reprisals and censorship. The Publishers Association is currently working with Government on the introduction of new libel laws in efforts to promote freedoms to create, express and publish content in an open and diverse environment.  Sir Christopher’s points were therefore extremely fitting.

The All Party Parliamentary Group on Publishing will be reconvening in the New Year to discuss a range of issues, including digital developments, orphan works and libel reforms, and to emphasise the issues of most importance to publishers within political debate.

APPG on Publishing holds 2010 AGM

15th September 2010

The APPG on Publishing held its AGM on 15th September 2010, at which Gordon Banks MP was re-elected Chair of the group.  Lord Heseltine was re-elected Vice-Chair and Tristram Hunt MP was elected Secretary.

Discussion at the AGM focused on topics which the group might investigate throughout the coming year, with the 'digital revolution' and the future of public libraries emerging as topics of interest to the group.

Meetings of the group were set for 2nd March 2011 and 22nd June 2011.  Preliminary discussions about the APPG's annual Parliamentary reception on 24th November 2010 were also held.

Copyright The Publishers Association 2010