Journalism.co.uk had this on its to-do list for this morning, but Sarah Ditum got there first and picked up Jon Snow’s comments from his reverse-role interview with Ann Widdecombe in the Guardian magazine on Saturday.
The Channel 4 News journalist – and Widdecombe reckons this is her scoop – would welcome a privacy act and says it wouldn’t affect the tabloids too much – ‘they’re going out of business anyway’.
AW Would you welcome a privacy act, Jon Snow?
JS I would welcome a privacy act, yes.
AW We have the scoop! Jon Snow says, ‘Bring in a privacy act.’
JS I believe that the tabloid media, in particular, have so intruded into the private lives of public people that they have brought it upon themselves that there should indeed be a privacy act.
AW I think that is absolutely right. I think…
JS Damn me, Ann Widdecombe, I didn’t think we’d have to sit here and agree.
AW And I consider that quite a coup, to have got Jon Snow to agree with me that we need to curtail the rights of the media. Thank you, Jon Snow…
JS I am totally opposed to, and would go to the gallows to prevent, censorship. But needless intrusion into the private lives of anybody…
AW Let me ask you this. Let’s imagine a politician – I don’t care whether it’s male or female, Jon, but let’s imagine a politician. You’ve got a politician who has never made any pronouncements about morality, who has a mistress. Is that the public’s business?
JS Not at all.
AW You’ve just put a lot of the tabloids out of business.
JS Well, they’re going out of business anyway, so that won’t mean much…