Digital Economy Bill custodian Sion Simon steps down

Creative Industries Minister quits to run for Mayor of Birmingham

The Digital Economy Bill is currently in the House of Lords

The government's Digital Economy Bill went into a state of limbo today, as the minister responsible for steering the legislation through parliament – Creative Industries Minister Sion Simon - announced he is to step down to run for Mayor of Birmingham.

The Digital Economy Bill addressed a number of issues initially brought out in the Digital Britain report published last June.

Those issues include digital piracy, how radio spectrum access is allocated and readdressing Ofcom's powers to look at the national communications infrastructure. The bill also requires Channel Four to provide public service content on a range of media.

The Bill still has to traverse five more stages through the House of Commons before receiving Royal Assent and moving on to the statute bill. Currently it is in the committee stage in the House of Lords, where it is being examined line by line.

In light of Simon's decision to stand down, the bill's sponsor, business secretary Lord Mandelson, may decide to take a more active role in pushing the legislation.