5. For section 5 (protection of Commission from actions for defamation) substitute—
(1) For the purposes of the law of defamation—
(a)any statement made by the Commissioner or a member of the Commissioner’s staff in pursuance of the Commissioner’s functions under the Ethical Standards Act or the Parliamentary Standards Act is absolutely privileged,
(b)any statement made by the Commissioner or a member of the Commissioner’s staff in pursuance of the Commissioner’s other functions has qualified privilege, and
(c)any statement made to the Commissioner or any member of the Commissioner’s staff in pursuance of the purposes of the Ethical Standards Act, the Parliamentary Standards Act or the Public Appointments Act has qualified privilege.
(2) In subsection (1), “statement” has the same meaning as in the Defamation Act 1996 (c.31).”.