License to Quill: UK Party Wants Tough Media Rules

Britain’s opposition Labour Party is proposing that reporters found guilty of phone hacking or other malpractice should be banned from working in the media.

A scandal over the illegal accessing of cell phone voicemail messages has already forced the closure of the News of the World tabloid, and the resignations of top police officers and media executives.

The Labour Party said Tuesday that the media needs tougher regulation.

Ivan Lewis, a lawmaker and Labour’s culture spokesman, told an annual rally of the party that reporters “guilty of gross malpractice should be struck off.”

Labour wants the news industry to implement a professional register like the General Medical Council, which licenses and monitors the performance of doctors.