Baroness Buscombe is an English barrister and politician and a Conservative member of the House of Lords. She was Chief Executive of the Advertising Association from 2007 to 2009 and served as Chairman of the Press Complaints Commission from 2009 to 2011. At the time of giving evidence she was still Chairman but her successor had been appointed. Buscombe spoke of inadequate political support for the PCC and lack of support from the industry. She also believed that the issue of rights and privileges of journalists required careful analysis.
Barrister with specialist experience in data protection, privacy, freedom of information, planning/development and electoral law. Gave "Opinion Evidence" on the Data Protection Act 1988 and the protection of personal privacy.
Legal Manager at News International who gave evidence that he thought NI's claim that the practice of phone-hacking was limited to one rogue reporter was "erroneous from the outset". He had given NI advice on phone-hacking as early as 2004. Told the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee about hacking allegations (in July 2009 and September 2011), stating that he had failed to find further evidence of hacking at the News of the World, following the jailing of the paper's royal editor Clive Goodman in 2007. The NoW closed in 2011 and Crone resigned from NI soon after. He was arrested in August 2012 on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications contrary to Section 1 of the Criminal Law Act 1977, and bailed. In 2014, the Crown Prosecution Service announced he would not face charges because of "insufficient evidence". In 2016, the Parliamentary privileges and standards committee found him in contempt of the House of Commons over the evidence he had submitted to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, resulting in a "formal admonishment".
Retired High Court judge at time of Inquiry, who had specialised in intellectual property, copyright, privacy and defamation cases. A specialist adviser to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Privacy and Injunctions, he advised the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee on its Report on Press Standards, Privacy and Libel. Sir Charles was also the founder of Early Resolution, an organisation set up to help litigants locked in libel disputes resolve differences quickly, fairly and at low cost. His Inquiry evidence on Early Resolution broadened into discussion of an Early Resolution model becoming the basis for a post-publication regulatory system with statutory foundation. Sir Charles also served as adjudicator in lawsuits against News Group Newspapers brought by people whose phones were hacked by the group.
Ken MacDonald was a former Director of Public Prosecutions of England and Wales and head of the Crown Prosecution Service. He was previously a Recorder (part-time judge) and defence barrister. A Liberal Democrat life peer, he gave evidence on the early Metropolitan Police investigation into phone-hacking.
Head of Legal at Express Newspapers at the time of giving evidence. Responsible for the provision of editorial legal services across the company, for both print and digital. Her evidence revealed that the Express continued to use the services of, and make payments to, the private investigator Steve Whittamore five years after he had pleaded guilty to illegally accessing data.
Senior English criminal barrister. Gave evidence to the Inquiry explaining his role in the prosecution in 2006-07 of Glenn Mulcaire and Clive Goodman, who were subsequently sentenced for offences related to the interception of voice messages, including of members of the Royal Household. Perry also advised the Government on the “cash-for-honours” scandal.
Director of Public Prosecutions at the time of giving evidence. He answered questions on DPP investigations into phone hacking which had resulted in the trial and prison sentences of Glenn Mulcaire and Clive Goodman. Starmer told the Inquiry that by 2011, after more press revelations from victims such as Sienna Miller and press stories about phone hacking (including in the New York Times) he knew there had to be a full review of all the material available. Starmer said that he had met with Assistant Commissioner John Yates to tell him that. Starmer became Labour MP for Holborn and St Pancras in 2015 and was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union. He was made Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in 2014 and sworn in as a Privy Councillor on 19 July 2017.
English barrister, a founding member of Matrix Chambers, and a prominent English translator of the philosopher Gilles Deleuze. Tomlinson, a specialist in media and information law including defamation, confidence, privacy and data protection, gave testimony to the Inquiry calling for the establishment of a Media Standards Authority (MSA). This would be a voluntary body whose members would be given significant legal incentives and would replace the existing Press Complaints Commission.
Barrister and lecturer, married to former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and patron of The Cherie Blair Foundation for Women. In 2013, Blair was awarded damages for her claims against News of the World in relation to the unlawful interception of her voicemails. Had raised a number of complaints over the years with publications such as the Daily Mail about inaccurate and invasive reporting, evidence of which was presented to the Inquiry.
Media lawyer, barrister and former Editorial Legal Director for the Telegraph Media Group. Cannon went on to be Senior Legal Counsel for the Sun Newspaper specialising in crisis management, reputation issues and related issues.
In 2012, as Treasury Solicitor, the Government's principal legal official, he gave written evidence to the Inquiry. At the time of News Corporation's BskyB bid, Sir Paul's advice had been sought on comments made about the bid by Vince Cable, the then Secretary of State for Business. Sir Paul told the Leveson Inquiry that he had informed the Cabinet Secretary, Sir Gus O'Donnell, that in his view Cable's comments could put his impartiality in question and that Cable's duties in the matter should therefore be transferred to another Secretary of State. Sir Paul died in February 2018.
British lawyer, judge and academic. Sir Stephen was appointed a High Court judge in 1992, serving in the Queen's Bench Division. In 1999 he was appointed to the Court of Appeal as a Lord Justice of Appeal. In written evidence, he told the Inquiry that Britain could boast some of the best investigative journalism in the world and also some of the most intrusive and foul-mouthed newspapers in the world. He proposed for consideration a statutory printed-media regulator governed by Parliament and designed to be inquisitorial rather than adversarial. There was now, he said, a powerful case for regulation and that litigation and self-regulation were not working.
British Barrister specialising in human rights, with a strong civil law background. Wagner founded the multi-award-winning human-rights charity Rights Info and the acclaimed UK Human Rights Blog. He spoke at the Inquiry of the “rough ethical system” emerging in respect to blogging and tweeting.
English barrister and former Senior Director of Law and Corporate Affairs at Microsoft specialising in IT licensing, intellectual property and competition law. Was asked by the Inquiry to provide information on search systems.
