Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport of 1 March 2018, Official Report, column 965, on Leveson Inquiry, for what reason he did not include the number of people who signed petitions in his evaluation of people in favour of reopening the Leveson Inquiry’in that Ministerial Statement.
Answer
As I said in my statement to the House, petition signatures were not counted as direct responses and this is in line with the approach taken by other government consultations - including those on same-sex marriage and the BBC Charter Review. The number of people who signed each petition is clearly set out in our response to the consultation, and their views have been considered fully as part of the Government's deliberations on these issues.