The National Heart Forum coalition says it won’t be scared off by Ofcom: here is the text of its news release.

Friday 16 June 2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

OFCOM ATTEMPTS TO SCARE OFF HEALTH AND CHILDREN’S CHARITIES FROM TAKING LEGAL ACTION

The broadcast regulator Ofcom has resorted to heavy-handed tactics to try and dissuade the National Heart Forum (NHF) – an alliance of health, medical and consumer organisations - from pursuing a legal challenge to the regulator’s consultation on food advertising to children.

Under pressure from the Food Standards Agency, Parliament and a growing coalition of professional and charitable organisations that are all calling for consideration of a 9pm watershed for junk food advertising, Ofcom has threatened to serve up to 144 companies and organisations as ‘interested parties’ to the case, a move which would massively drive up costs and tie up court time. (A copy of Ofcom’s letter of 13 June to the NHF is attached).

Jane Landon, deputy chief executive of the NHF said: ‘Ofcom’s response to our legal challenge is to try and scare us into abandoning our claim. It is scandalous that a national regulator should use public money to attempt to out-gun our limited charitable resources by ramping up costs and wasting time’.

‘Since announcing our intention to seek judicial review, Ofcom has published a series of updates and corrections to their original consultation document, addressing a number of the complaints we have raised. It is both extraordinary and depressing that the threat of legal action appears to be the only language that Ofcom understands.’

Richard Stein, partner with Leigh, Day & Co, acting for the NHF said: ‘Ofcom’s conduct of this litigation has been remarkable. The latest instalment is that they are proposing to serve several files of legal papers on nearly 150 organisations, ranging from McDonalds to the Gaelic Media Service, inviting them to participate in the judicial review. In my experience, this would be completely unprecedented. It is difficult to imagine a more blatant attempt to frighten the National Heart Forum, a charity, away from bringing their serious and important claim.’