Leveson Inquiry
Encyclopedia
The Leveson Inquiry is an ongoing public inquiry
into the culture
, practices and ethics
of the British press following the News International phone hacking scandal. On 6 July 2011, Prime Minister
David Cameron
announced to Parliament
that a public government inquiry would convene to further investigate the affair. On 13 July, Cameron appointed Lord Justice Leveson
as Chairman of the inquiry, with a remit to look into the specific claims about phone hacking at the News of the World, the initial police inquiry and allegations of illicit payments to police by the press, and a second inquiry to review the general culture and ethics of the British media.
Part 2 of the inquiry will address:
The inquiry is running in four modules. These are:
Module 1: The Press and the Public: The relationship between the press and the public and looks at phone-hacking and other potentially illegal behaviour
Module 2: The Press and the Police
: The relationships between the press and police and the extent to which that has operated in the public interest
Module 3: The Press and Politicians: The relationship between press and politicians
Module 4: The Future: Recommendations for a more effective policy and regulation that supports the integrity and freedom of the press while encouraging the highest ethical standards.
Requests for written evidence in relation to Module 1, were sent out in August, and Lord Justice Leveson also invited comments, evidence and submissions from any other interested parties. As part of this process, Lord Justice Leveson held a series of seminars in September and October to set the context for the Inquiry. Comments on the issues raised were invited from members of the public at three seminars which were held in October (see Seminars). Formal evidence hearings started on Monday 14 November at the Royal Courts of Justice.
Part 2 will be addressed later because of ongoing investigations by law enforcement
organizations.
Part 1
1. To inquire into the culture, practices, and ethics of the press, including:
a. contacts and the relationships between national newspapers and politicians, and the conduct of each;
b. contacts and the relationship between the press and the police, and the conduct of each;
c. the extent to which the current policy
and regulatory framework has failed including in relation to data protection; and
d. the extent to which there was a failure to act on previous warnings about media misconduct
.
2. To make recommendations:
a. for a new more effective policy and regulatory regime which supports the integrity and freedom of the press, the plurality of the media, and its independence, including from Government, while encouraging the highest ethical and professional standards;
b. for how future concerns about press behaviour, media policy, regulation and cross-media ownership should be dealt with by all the relevant authorities, including Parliament, Government, the prosecuting authorities and the police;
c. the future conduct of relations between politicians and the press; and
d. the future conduct of relations between the police and the press.
Part 2
3. To inquire into the extent of unlawful or improper conduct within News International, other newspaper organisations and, as appropriate, other organisations within the media, and by those responsible for holding personal data.
4. To inquire into the way in which any relevant police force investigated allegations or evidence of unlawful conduct by persons within or connected with News International, the review by the Metropolitan Police of their initial investigation, and the conduct of the prosecuting authorities.
5. To inquire into the extent to which the police received corrupt payments or other inducements, or were otherwise complicit in such misconduct or in suppressing its proper investigation, and how this was allowed to happen.
6. To inquire into the extent of corporate governance and management failures at News International and other newspaper organisations, and the role, if any, of politicians, public servants and others in relation to any failure to investigate wrongdoing at News International
7. In the light of these inquiries, to consider the implications for the relationships between newspaper organisations and the police, prosecuting authorities, and relevant regulatory bodies – and to recommend what actions, if any, should be taken.
Briefing Session 1: Techniques of access to personal data
This briefing was provided in closed session on 19 September 2011. Lord Justice Leveson made a restriction order under section 19 of the Inquiries Act 2005
. The briefing covered the technicalities of intercepting phone calls, voicemail
s and email
, and other means of access to private information. The session was commissioned to explain to the Inquiry the technicalities of phone hacking and other possible means of covert access to private information.
Briefing Session 2: Current media law
This briefing session was held at 2pm on Wednesday 28 September 2011, and led by Mark Warby QC, a leading silk in media, entertainment
, sports
and regulatory law. His presentation covered the existing legal framework governing the operation of the media, including the relationship between Articles 8 and 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights, data protection, freedom of information
, and the law relating to broadcasting
, both at UK and at applicable European level. The purpose of the session was to give the Inquiry an overview of the legal context within which the media is currently required to operate.
Briefing Session 3: Regulatory systems
The third session was held at 2pm on Wednesday 5 October 2011 and helped the Inquiry understand both the potential and the limitations of regulatory systems, the ideas and techniques underlying them, and the forms that they currently take. It provided an overview of the full range of regulatory approaches from self-regulation to detailed legal regimes, looking at models in use in a number of different areas, sectors and countries. There were presentations by Donald Macrae
, Ed Richards (CEO of Ofcom
), David Smith (Deputy Information Commissioner of the ICO), Tony Boorman, of the Financial Ombudsman Service
, Guy Parker and Lynsay Taffe of the ASA
, Mark Tompson and Stephen Abell.
The seminars were recorded and made available on the Inquiry's website. The intention is that these seminars will provide the stimulus for an open invitation for both media professionals and members of the public to continue the debate online, and provide further evidence to the Inquiry which Lord Justice Leveson will take into account. These seminars will constitute a part of the Inquiry’s procedures. Lord Justice Leveson will be present and listening throughout, and the papers and debates will be important parts of the Inquiry’s records. But the seminars are in addition to, and quite distinct from, the forensic fact-finding exercise that is also being undertaken by way of formally seeking witness evidence as to the circumstances surrounding the phone-hacking scandal itself and the other issues that the Inquiry has been asked to consider and where Lord Justice Leveson is separately inviting or requiring first-hand accounts from a range of witnesses, to the facts and the approach. The seminars, by contrast,
are an opportunity for the Inquiry to take a broad brush look at the wider picture – to hear opinions and debate.
This event was held from 9.30am – 1.00pm on Thursday 6 October in the QEII Conference Centre in Westminster.
This seminar looked at the market in which the printed press operate and the pressures that changes in the market are putting on the industry. It considered the extent to which those pressures affect editorial decisions and looked at the pressures on journalists on a day to day basis and where those pressures come from. It helped the Inquiry to understand how newspapers work and what the internal and external pressures are and how they differ across the market. There were presentations by Claire Enders, Phil Hall
and Richard Peppiatt.
Seminar 2: The Rights and Responsibilities of the Press
This event was held from 2.00 – 5.30pm on Thursday 6 October in the QEII Conference Centre in Westminster.
The seminar looked at the importance of a free press and the role of a free press, as well as considering issues around what the ‘public interest’ means and how it can be assessed and whether there is a shared sense of journalistic ethics. There were presentations by Alan Rusbridger
, Trevor Kavanagh
and Brian Cathcart.
Seminar 3: Supporting a free press and high standards – approaches to regulation
This event was held from 9.30am – 5.30pm on Wednesday 12 October in the QEII Conference Centre in Westminster.
This seminar looked at the future for self-regulation and how internal corporate governance structure and processes can be used to ensure compliance with standards. It also considered issues around redress for those who have been treated badly when standards are breached and the importance of protecting freedom of expression and defending the freedom of the press. There were presentations by Eve Salomon, Paul Dacre
, Will Moy, Stephen Hill
, Sly Bailey
, Professor Steven Barnett
, Desmond Browne QC, Professor Robert Baldwin
, John Kampfner, Professor James Curran and Kelvin MacKenzie
.
. He also announced a panel of six people who will work with the judge on the inquiry:
One of the privileges of being a core participant is that "the recognised legal representative of a core participant may apply to the chairman for permission to ask questions of a witness giving oral evidence.:
As of November 2011, the Core participants were designated as being:
51 victims were named by the Inquiry as of November 2011. They were:
Monday 21st November - Bob Dowler, Sally Dowler, Hugh Grant, Graham Shear, Joan Smith
Tuesday 22nd November - Steve Coogan
, Mary-Ellen Field, Garry Flitcroft, Margaret Watson
Wednesday 23rd November - Sheryl Gascoigne, Mark Lewis, Gerry McCann, Tom Rowland
Thursday 24th November -HJK, Sienna Miller, Max Mosley, JK Rowling, Mark Thomson
Friday 25th November - Non Sitting Day
Monday 28th November - Charlotte Church, Anne Diamond, Ian Hurst, Chris Jefferies, Jane Winter
Tuesday 29th November - Richard Peppiatt, Nick Davies
, Paul McMullan
Wednesday 30th November - Alastair Campbell
, Alex Owens
Thursday 1st December - Non Sitting Day
Friday 2nd December - Non Sitting Day
Richard Thomas and Paul Staines will now appear week commencing 5th December, Thomas due to illness and in the case of Staines to give him more time to prepare his submissions regarding Lord Justice Leveson's restriction notice.
, a PR executive married to Elisabeth Murdoch
, the daughter of Rupert Murdoch
. These revelations led to a number of Labour MP calling for Leveson to be removed from the Inquiry.
In September 2011, former Merseyside Police
Inspector Alec Owens, the original lead investigator of Information Commissioner's Office's (ICO) Operation Motorman
, criticised the senior management of the ICO for the way in which the investigation was handled. He stated that investigators were prohibited from interviewing journalists and alleged that this was because the management "were frightened". He said that had the team been allowed to question journalists the use of phone hacking might have been uncovered earlier. In November 2011, just a few days before Owens was due to give evidence to the Leveson Inquiry on 30 November, his home was raided under warrant by Cheshire Police. Before leaving under police caution for an interview at Wilmslow
police station, Owens informed Lord Leveson by phone of the raid.
In late November 2011, political blogger Paul Staines
on his Guido Fawkes site posted the Inquiry pre-submission of former journalist and Labour Party spin-doctor Alistair Campbell
. All pre-submissions are given under strict and full confidentiality, and all core participants - including victims, the Met Police and the Crown Prosecution Service - are also signatories. Staines stated that he had obtained the submission legally. Leveson immediately called him to the inquiry to make a statement under cross-examination.
Public inquiry
A Tribunal of Inquiry is an official review of events or actions ordered by a government body in Common Law countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland or Canada. Such a public inquiry differs from a Royal Commission in that a public inquiry accepts evidence and conducts its hearings in a more...
into the culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
, practices and ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
of the British press following the News International phone hacking scandal. On 6 July 2011, Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
announced to Parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
that a public government inquiry would convene to further investigate the affair. On 13 July, Cameron appointed Lord Justice Leveson
Brian Leveson
Brian Henry Leveson QC , previously styled as the Honourable Mr Justice Leveson, now styled as the Right Honourable Lord Justice Leveson, is an English Judge, a Lord Justice of Appeal for England and Wales and, since 2010, head of the Sentencing Council for England and Wales.It was announced on 13...
as Chairman of the inquiry, with a remit to look into the specific claims about phone hacking at the News of the World, the initial police inquiry and allegations of illicit payments to police by the press, and a second inquiry to review the general culture and ethics of the British media.
Scope and process
According to the press release of 14 September it was stated Part 1 of the Leveson Inquiry will address:Part 2 of the inquiry will address:
The inquiry is running in four modules. These are:
Module 1: The Press and the Public: The relationship between the press and the public and looks at phone-hacking and other potentially illegal behaviour
Module 2: The Press and the Police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
: The relationships between the press and police and the extent to which that has operated in the public interest
Module 3: The Press and Politicians: The relationship between press and politicians
Module 4: The Future: Recommendations for a more effective policy and regulation that supports the integrity and freedom of the press while encouraging the highest ethical standards.
Requests for written evidence in relation to Module 1, were sent out in August, and Lord Justice Leveson also invited comments, evidence and submissions from any other interested parties. As part of this process, Lord Justice Leveson held a series of seminars in September and October to set the context for the Inquiry. Comments on the issues raised were invited from members of the public at three seminars which were held in October (see Seminars). Formal evidence hearings started on Monday 14 November at the Royal Courts of Justice.
Part 2 will be addressed later because of ongoing investigations by law enforcement
Law enforcement
Law enforcement broadly refers to any system by which some members of society act in an organized manner to promote adherence to the law by discovering and punishing persons who violate the rules and norms governing that society...
organizations.
Terms of reference
Terms of reference for Judge-led InquiryPart 1
1. To inquire into the culture, practices, and ethics of the press, including:
a. contacts and the relationships between national newspapers and politicians, and the conduct of each;
b. contacts and the relationship between the press and the police, and the conduct of each;
c. the extent to which the current policy
Policy
A policy is typically described as a principle or rule to guide decisions and achieve rational outcome. The term is not normally used to denote what is actually done, this is normally referred to as either procedure or protocol...
and regulatory framework has failed including in relation to data protection; and
d. the extent to which there was a failure to act on previous warnings about media misconduct
Misconduct
A misconduct is a legal term meaning a wrongful, improper, or unlawful conduct motivated by premeditated or intentional purpose or by obstinate indifference to the consequences of one's acts....
.
2. To make recommendations:
a. for a new more effective policy and regulatory regime which supports the integrity and freedom of the press, the plurality of the media, and its independence, including from Government, while encouraging the highest ethical and professional standards;
b. for how future concerns about press behaviour, media policy, regulation and cross-media ownership should be dealt with by all the relevant authorities, including Parliament, Government, the prosecuting authorities and the police;
c. the future conduct of relations between politicians and the press; and
d. the future conduct of relations between the police and the press.
Part 2
3. To inquire into the extent of unlawful or improper conduct within News International, other newspaper organisations and, as appropriate, other organisations within the media, and by those responsible for holding personal data.
4. To inquire into the way in which any relevant police force investigated allegations or evidence of unlawful conduct by persons within or connected with News International, the review by the Metropolitan Police of their initial investigation, and the conduct of the prosecuting authorities.
5. To inquire into the extent to which the police received corrupt payments or other inducements, or were otherwise complicit in such misconduct or in suppressing its proper investigation, and how this was allowed to happen.
6. To inquire into the extent of corporate governance and management failures at News International and other newspaper organisations, and the role, if any, of politicians, public servants and others in relation to any failure to investigate wrongdoing at News International
7. In the light of these inquiries, to consider the implications for the relationships between newspaper organisations and the police, prosecuting authorities, and relevant regulatory bodies – and to recommend what actions, if any, should be taken.
Briefing sessions
Lord Justice Leveson commissioned a series of teaching or briefing sessions to provide the Inquiry with some key factual background information material. They will take the form of expert presentations with an opportunity for members of the Inquiry to ask questions. Three sessions have been held to date. They are:Briefing Session 1: Techniques of access to personal data
This briefing was provided in closed session on 19 September 2011. Lord Justice Leveson made a restriction order under section 19 of the Inquiries Act 2005
Inquiries Act 2005
The Inquiries Act 2005 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. According to the Department for Constitutional Affairs, the Act "is designed to provide a framework under which future inquiries, set up by Ministers into events that have caused or have potential to cause public concern,...
. The briefing covered the technicalities of intercepting phone calls, voicemail
Voicemail
Voicemail is a computer based system that allows users and subscribers to exchange personal voice messages; to select and deliver voice information; and to process transactions relating to individuals, organizations, products and services, using an ordinary telephone...
s and email
Email
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
, and other means of access to private information. The session was commissioned to explain to the Inquiry the technicalities of phone hacking and other possible means of covert access to private information.
Briefing Session 2: Current media law
This briefing session was held at 2pm on Wednesday 28 September 2011, and led by Mark Warby QC, a leading silk in media, entertainment
Entertainment law
Entertainment law or media law is a term for a mix of more traditional categories of law with a focus on providing legal services to the entertainment industry. The principal areas of Entertainment Law overlap substantially with the well-known and conventional field of intellectual property law...
, sports
Sports law
Sports law is an umbrella term used to describe the legal issues at work in the world of both amateur and professional sports. Sports law overlaps substantially with labor law, contract law, competition or antitrust law, and tort law. Issues like defamation and privacy rights are also an integral...
and regulatory law. His presentation covered the existing legal framework governing the operation of the media, including the relationship between Articles 8 and 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights, data protection, freedom of information
Freedom of information
Freedom of information refers to the protection of the right to freedom of expression with regards to the Internet and information technology . Freedom of information may also concern censorship in an information technology context, i.e...
, and the law relating to broadcasting
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
, both at UK and at applicable European level. The purpose of the session was to give the Inquiry an overview of the legal context within which the media is currently required to operate.
Briefing Session 3: Regulatory systems
The third session was held at 2pm on Wednesday 5 October 2011 and helped the Inquiry understand both the potential and the limitations of regulatory systems, the ideas and techniques underlying them, and the forms that they currently take. It provided an overview of the full range of regulatory approaches from self-regulation to detailed legal regimes, looking at models in use in a number of different areas, sectors and countries. There were presentations by Donald Macrae
Donald MacRae
Donald Alexander MacRae was a Canadian astronomer.Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia he was the Chair of the Department of Astronomy at the University of Toronto and Director of the David Dunlap Observatory from 1965 to 1978. He was one of a few Canadians who were early Ph.D...
, Ed Richards (CEO of Ofcom
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
), David Smith (Deputy Information Commissioner of the ICO), Tony Boorman, of the Financial Ombudsman Service
Financial Ombudsman Service
The United Kingdom's Financial Ombudsman Service is an ombudsman established in 2001 as a result of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 to help settle disputes between consumers and UK-based businesses providing financial services, such as banks, building societies, insurance companies,...
, Guy Parker and Lynsay Taffe of the ASA
Advertising Standards Authority (United Kingdom)
The Advertising Standards Authority is the self-regulatory organisation of the advertising industry in the United Kingdom. The ASA is a non-statutory organisation and so cannot interpret or enforce legislation. However, its code of advertising practice broadly reflects legislation in many instances...
, Mark Tompson and Stephen Abell.
Seminars
Lord Justice Leveson announced that he would hold a number of seminars to enable consideration of the central public policy issues in the Inquiry’s terms of reference to be enriched by and examined from across a range of informed perspectives. Each of the seminars will be chaired by one or more of the Inquiry’s assessors, and to ensure that the seminars are informed by professional opinion in the field, Lord Justice Leveson will invite a small number of influential experts and key people in the area to make a personal contribution by presenting brief papers to stimulate debate among an invited audience of opinion-formers.The seminars were recorded and made available on the Inquiry's website. The intention is that these seminars will provide the stimulus for an open invitation for both media professionals and members of the public to continue the debate online, and provide further evidence to the Inquiry which Lord Justice Leveson will take into account. These seminars will constitute a part of the Inquiry’s procedures. Lord Justice Leveson will be present and listening throughout, and the papers and debates will be important parts of the Inquiry’s records. But the seminars are in addition to, and quite distinct from, the forensic fact-finding exercise that is also being undertaken by way of formally seeking witness evidence as to the circumstances surrounding the phone-hacking scandal itself and the other issues that the Inquiry has been asked to consider and where Lord Justice Leveson is separately inviting or requiring first-hand accounts from a range of witnesses, to the facts and the approach. The seminars, by contrast,
are an opportunity for the Inquiry to take a broad brush look at the wider picture – to hear opinions and debate.
Module 1 Seminars
Seminar 1: The Competitive Pressures on the Press and the Impact on JournalismThis event was held from 9.30am – 1.00pm on Thursday 6 October in the QEII Conference Centre in Westminster.
This seminar looked at the market in which the printed press operate and the pressures that changes in the market are putting on the industry. It considered the extent to which those pressures affect editorial decisions and looked at the pressures on journalists on a day to day basis and where those pressures come from. It helped the Inquiry to understand how newspapers work and what the internal and external pressures are and how they differ across the market. There were presentations by Claire Enders, Phil Hall
Phil Hall (journalist)
Phil Hall is a British PR consultant and former newspaper editor.Hall entered journalism in 1974, as a reporter on the Dagenham Post. He then moved to the Ilford Recorder and subsequently filled a sub-editor post on the Newham Recorder, but returned to reporting at the Sunday People...
and Richard Peppiatt.
Seminar 2: The Rights and Responsibilities of the Press
This event was held from 2.00 – 5.30pm on Thursday 6 October in the QEII Conference Centre in Westminster.
The seminar looked at the importance of a free press and the role of a free press, as well as considering issues around what the ‘public interest’ means and how it can be assessed and whether there is a shared sense of journalistic ethics. There were presentations by Alan Rusbridger
Alan Rusbridger
Alan Charles Rusbridger is the editor of the British newspaper The Guardian. He has also been a reporter and a columnist.-Early life:...
, Trevor Kavanagh
Trevor Kavanagh
Trevor Michael Thomas Kavanagh is a journalist and formerly the Political Editor of the Sun newspaper.Trevor Kavanagh was educated at Reigate Grammar School before leaving school at 17 to work for newspapers in Surrey and later Hereford. In 1965 he emigrated to Australia, working on several...
and Brian Cathcart.
Seminar 3: Supporting a free press and high standards – approaches to regulation
This event was held from 9.30am – 5.30pm on Wednesday 12 October in the QEII Conference Centre in Westminster.
This seminar looked at the future for self-regulation and how internal corporate governance structure and processes can be used to ensure compliance with standards. It also considered issues around redress for those who have been treated badly when standards are breached and the importance of protecting freedom of expression and defending the freedom of the press. There were presentations by Eve Salomon, Paul Dacre
Paul Dacre
Paul Michael Dacre is a British journalist and current editor of the British newspaper the Daily Mail. He is also editor in chief of the Mail group titles, which also includes The Mail on Sunday. He is also a director of the Daily Mail and General Trust plc and was a member of the Press Complaints...
, Will Moy, Stephen Hill
Stephen Hill
Stephen Hill is a United States producer, creator and host of the long-running Hearts of Space radio program, which features "contemporary space music" from a variety of musicians and genres...
, Sly Bailey
Sly Bailey
Sly Bailey is both the chief executive of Trinity Mirror, UK's largest newspaper publisher, and non-executive director of EMI. She is widely considered as one of the most powerful woman executives in Europe...
, Professor Steven Barnett
Steven Barnett
Steven William Barnett is a retired water polo player from the United States, who competed in two consecutive Summer Olympics for his native country, starting in 1968. He won the bronze medal with the Men's National Team at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany.-References:**...
, Desmond Browne QC, Professor Robert Baldwin
Robert Baldwin
Robert Baldwin was born at York . He, along with his political partner Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, led the first responsible ministry in Canada, regarded by some as the first truly Canadian government....
, John Kampfner, Professor James Curran and Kelvin MacKenzie
Kelvin MacKenzie
Kelvin Calder MacKenzie is an English media executive and former newspaper editor. He is best known for being editor of The Sun newspaper between 1981 and 1994, an era in which the paper was established as Britain's best selling newspaper.- Biography :MacKenzie was educated at Alleyn's School...
.
Assessors
On 20 July 2011, Cameron announced in a speech to Parliament the final terms of reference of Leveson's inquiry, stating that it will extend beyond newspapers to include broadcasters and social mediaSocial media
The term Social Media refers to the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into an interactive dialogue. Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define social media as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0,...
. He also announced a panel of six people who will work with the judge on the inquiry:
- Sir David BellDavid Bell (publisher)Sir David Charles Maurice Bell was Director for People at Pearson Group and was Chairman of the Financial Times until the end of 2009. He is married with three children.-Education:Sir David was educated at Worth School...
, former chairman of the Financial TimesFinancial TimesThe Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City.... - Shami ChakrabartiShami ChakrabartiShami Chakrabarti CBE , has been the director of Liberty, a British pressure group, since September 2003. Chakrabarti is the Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University.-Early life:...
, director of LibertyLiberty (pressure group)Liberty is a pressure group based in the United Kingdom. Its formal name is the National Council for Civil Liberties . Founded in 1934 by Ronald Kidd and Sylvia Crowther-Smith , the group campaigns to protect civil liberties and promote human rights... - Lord CurrieDavid Currie, Baron Currie of MaryleboneDavid Anthony Currie, Baron Currie of Marylebone was the chairman of Ofcom and a member of the House of Lords under the title of Baron Currie of Marylebone, of Marylebone in the City of Westminster.Currie is also chairman of Semperian PPP Investment Partners and acts as an advisor to Unisys...
, former OfcomOfcomOfcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
director - Elinor GoodmanElinor GoodmanElinor Mary Goodman is a UK journalist, best known as Political Editor of Channel 4 News from 1988 to 2005. She was educated at the Manor House School, an independent school in Surrey, England....
, former political editor of Channel 4 NewsChannel 4 NewsChannel 4 News is the news division of British television broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since the broadcaster's launch in 1982.-Channel 4 News:... - George JonesGeorge Jones (journalist)George Jones is a journalist who is the former political editor of The Telegraph and a member of the Leveson Inquiry.-References:...
, former political editor of the Daily Telegraph - Sir Paul Scott-Lee QPM, former Chief Constable of West Midlands PoliceWest Midlands PoliceWest Midlands Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England.Covering an area with nearly 2.6 million inhabitants, which includes the cities of Birmingham, Coventry, Wolverhampton and also the Black Country; the force is made up...
Counsel to inquiry
- Robert Jay Q.C. was called to the BarBar-Food and drink:* Bar , a retail establishment that serves alcoholic beverages* Bar , the counter at which drinks are served by a bartender* Dessert bar, a type of cookie-Law:...
in 1981 and took Silk in 1998. He practises in publicPublic lawPublic law is a theory of law governing the relationship between individuals and the state. Under this theory, constitutional law, administrative law and criminal law are sub-divisions of public law...
and administrative lawAdministrative lawAdministrative law is the body of law that governs the activities of administrative agencies of government. Government agency action can include rulemaking, adjudication, or the enforcement of a specific regulatory agenda. Administrative law is considered a branch of public law...
, regulatory law and large-scale multi-party litigation, acting for both claimants and defendantDefendantA defendant or defender is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute...
s. He is a RecorderRecorder (judge)A Recorder is a judicial officer in England and Wales. It now refers to two quite different appointments. The ancient Recorderships of England and Wales now form part of a system of Honorary Recorderships which are filled by the most senior full-time circuit judges...
of the Crown CourtCrown CourtThe Crown Court of England and Wales is, together with the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal, one of the constituent parts of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
, a Deputy Judge of the High CourtHigh Court of JusticeThe High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
, and Joint Head of ChambersChambers (law)A judge's chambers, often just called his or her chambers, is the office of a judge.Chambers may also refer to the type of courtroom where motions related to matter of procedure are heard.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :...
at 39 Essex Street39 Essex StreetThirty Nine Essex Street is a long established barristers’ set of 30 Queen’s Counsel and 62 juniors. They offer substantial expertise in commercial, common, construction, costs, environmental and planning, public and regulatory and disciplinary law...
. - David Barr barrister since 1993; is experienced in civil litigation both at first instance and appellate level.
- Carine Patry Hoskins, barrister, a public and administrative law specialist.
- Toby Fisher, barrister, specialises in public and environmental lawEnvironmental lawEnvironmental law is a complex and interlocking body of treaties, conventions, statutes, regulations, and common law that operates to regulate the interaction of humanity and the natural environment, toward the purpose of reducing the impacts of human activity...
. He is co-author of the chapter on freedom of expression in Human RightsHuman rightsHuman rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
Practice (Simor, ed; Sweet & Maxwell). - Josephine Norris, barrister, Assistant Editor of the Encyclopaedia of Environmental Law.
- William Irwin, barrister since 2010. specialises in public law, personal injuryPersonal injuryPersonal injury is a legal term for an injury to the body, mind or emotions, as opposed to an injury to property. The term is most commonly used to refer to a type of tort lawsuit alleging that the plaintiff's injury has been caused by the negligence of another, but also arises in defamation...
and employment work.
Core particpants
The Inquiry’s ‘core participants’ (CPs) are designated by the Chairman. An individual or an organisation can become a CP if they seem to the Chairman to meet one or more of the following criteria according to Rule 5 of the Inquiries Rules 2006:- the person played, or may have played, a direct and significant role in relation to the matters to which the inquiry relates;
- the person has a significant interest in an important aspect of those matters to which the inquiry relates; or
- the person may be subject to explicit or significant criticism during the inquiry proceedings or in its report.
One of the privileges of being a core participant is that "the recognised legal representative of a core participant may apply to the chairman for permission to ask questions of a witness giving oral evidence.:
As of November 2011, the Core participants were designated as being:
- News International
- The Metropolitan Police
- Victims (see below)
- Northern and Shell Network Ltd
- Guardian News and Media Ltd
- Associated Newspapers Ltd
- Trinity Mirror
- Telegraph Media Group
- the National Union of Journalists.
Victims
The 14 September 2011 press release also named 46 politicians, sportsmen, other public figures, and members of the public who may have been victims of media intrusion and who have been granted "core participant" status in the inquiry.51 victims were named by the Inquiry as of November 2011. They were:
Witnesses
The oral evidence was taken from witnesses on the following schedule:Monday 21st November - Bob Dowler, Sally Dowler, Hugh Grant, Graham Shear, Joan Smith
Tuesday 22nd November - Steve Coogan
Steve Coogan
Stephen John "Steve" Coogan is a British comedian, actor, writer and producer. Born in Manchester, he began his career as a standup comedian and impressionist, working as a voice artist throughout the 1980s on satirical puppet show Spitting Image. In the early nineties, Coogan began creating...
, Mary-Ellen Field, Garry Flitcroft, Margaret Watson
Wednesday 23rd November - Sheryl Gascoigne, Mark Lewis, Gerry McCann, Tom Rowland
Thursday 24th November -HJK, Sienna Miller, Max Mosley, JK Rowling, Mark Thomson
Friday 25th November - Non Sitting Day
Monday 28th November - Charlotte Church, Anne Diamond, Ian Hurst, Chris Jefferies, Jane Winter
Tuesday 29th November - Richard Peppiatt, Nick Davies
Nick Davies
Nick Davies is a British investigative journalist, writer and documentary maker.Davies has written extensively as a freelancer, as well as for The Guardian and The Observer, and been named Reporter of the Year Journalist of the Year and Feature Writer of the Year at the British Press Awards...
, Paul McMullan
Paul McMullan
Paul Alexander McMullan is a Scottish professional football midfielder currently playing for Clyde.-External links:...
Wednesday 30th November - Alastair Campbell
Alastair Campbell
Alastair John Campbell is a British journalist, broadcaster, political aide and author, best known for his work as Director of Communications and Strategy for Prime Minister Tony Blair between 1997 and 2003, having first started working for Blair in 1994...
, Alex Owens
Thursday 1st December - Non Sitting Day
Friday 2nd December - Non Sitting Day
Richard Thomas and Paul Staines will now appear week commencing 5th December, Thomas due to illness and in the case of Staines to give him more time to prepare his submissions regarding Lord Justice Leveson's restriction notice.
Criticism and controversy
It was subsequently reported in the media that Leveson had attended two parties in the prior 12 months at the London home of Matthew FreudMatthew Freud
Matthew Freud is head of Freud Communications, an international public relations firm in the United Kingdom.-Biography:...
, a PR executive married to Elisabeth Murdoch
Elisabeth Murdoch (businesswoman)
Elisabeth Murdoch is an executive in the British television industry and a daughter of international media mogul Rupert Murdoch...
, the daughter of Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
. These revelations led to a number of Labour MP calling for Leveson to be removed from the Inquiry.
In September 2011, former Merseyside Police
Merseyside Police
Merseyside Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Merseyside in North West England. The force area is 647 square kilometres with a population of around 1.5 million...
Inspector Alec Owens, the original lead investigator of Information Commissioner's Office's (ICO) Operation Motorman
Operation Motorman (ICO investigation)
Operation Motorman was a 2003 investigation by the Information Commissioner's Office into allegations of offences under the Data Protection Act by the British press....
, criticised the senior management of the ICO for the way in which the investigation was handled. He stated that investigators were prohibited from interviewing journalists and alleged that this was because the management "were frightened". He said that had the team been allowed to question journalists the use of phone hacking might have been uncovered earlier. In November 2011, just a few days before Owens was due to give evidence to the Leveson Inquiry on 30 November, his home was raided under warrant by Cheshire Police. Before leaving under police caution for an interview at Wilmslow
Wilmslow
-Economy:Wilmslow is well known, like Alderley Edge, for having many famous residents, notably footballers, stars of Coronation Street and rich North West businessmen. The town is part of the so-called Golden Triangle in the north west together with Alderley Edge and Prestbury...
police station, Owens informed Lord Leveson by phone of the raid.
In late November 2011, political blogger Paul Staines
Paul Staines
Paul Staines is an English-born Irish right-wing political blogger. Writer of the pseudonymous "Guido Fawkes' blog of parliamentary plots, rumours & conspiracy", which had as of February 2009, 118,000 visitors per month, his political blog has been described as "one of Britain's leading political...
on his Guido Fawkes site posted the Inquiry pre-submission of former journalist and Labour Party spin-doctor Alistair Campbell
Alistair Campbell
Alistair, Alastair or Alister Campbell, may refer to:* Alistair Campbell , Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at the University of Oxford* Alistair Campbell , New Zealander...
. All pre-submissions are given under strict and full confidentiality, and all core participants - including victims, the Met Police and the Crown Prosecution Service - are also signatories. Staines stated that he had obtained the submission legally. Leveson immediately called him to the inquiry to make a statement under cross-examination.
See also
- Politico-media complexPolitico-media complexThe politico-media complex is a name that has been given to the close, systematized, symbiotic-like network of relationships between a state's political and ruling classes, its media industry, and any interactions with or dependencies upon interest groups with other domains and agencies, such as...
- Public inquiryPublic inquiryA Tribunal of Inquiry is an official review of events or actions ordered by a government body in Common Law countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland or Canada. Such a public inquiry differs from a Royal Commission in that a public inquiry accepts evidence and conducts its hearings in a more...
s - News International phone hacking scandal
- Police corruptionPolice corruptionPolice corruption is a specific form of police misconduct designed to obtain financial benefits, other personal gain, or career advancement for a police officer or officers in exchange for not pursuing, or selectively pursuing, an investigation or arrest....
External links
- Website for The Leveson Inquiry
- http://www.levesoninquiry.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Core-Participants-final-14.09.11.pdf Leveson Inquiry Press Release (14 September 2011) "Ruling on Core Participants"
- Inquiry Coverage at BBC News
- Inquiry Coverage at the Guardian
- Inquiry Coverage at the Daily Telegraph