The head of the Publishers Association has launched a broadside against lobbying by internet companies such as Google and open-internet campaigners over piracy and copyright protection online. Speaking at the Westminster Media Forum on Thursday, Richard Mollet, chief executive of the Publishers Association, which represents publishers in the UK, accused internet services providers, search engines and campaigners such as Open Rights Group and Consumer Focus of “having the temerity to appropriate the language of freedom of expression as a cloak for tawdry theft”.