Compatibility With European Convention on Human Rights
30.Section 19 of the Human Rights Act 1998 requires the Minister in charge of a Bill in each House of Parliament to make a statement about the compatibility of its provisions with the Convention rights (as defined by section 1 of that Act). Patricia Hewitt, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, and Baroness Blackstone, the Minister for the Arts, made statements to the effect that -
"In my view the provisions of the Office of Communications Bill  are compatible with the Convention rights."