Abell was deputy director of the Press Complaints Commission at the time of giving evidence, having previously acted as one of two assistant directors at the Commission. Abell provided extensive information on the background of the PCC, its guidelines regarding conduct, and desirable ways of balancing the interests of editors and the public. He also argued in favour of pre-publication consultation. If a person knew something was to be written about them, the PCC could represent the person to the paper "and give advice to the editor, while letting the editor retain the decision about publication. But the effect is very often that stories are either not published, or that the inaccurate and untruthful parts of stories are not published." Now a radio presenter and editor of the Times Literary Supplement, Abell was also Managing Editor of The Sun from 2013 to 2016.
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".
Journalist and editor of the Daily Mail at time of giving evidence. Was also editor-in-chief of DMG Media, which publishes the Daily Mail, the Mail on Sunday, Metro, the Mailonline website and other titles. Dacre was a member of the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) from 1999 to 2008, leaving to chair the PCC's Editors' Code of Practice Committee. After giving evidence to the Leveson Inquiry about his views on regulation, he was later recalled to answer accusations made against the Mail by actor Hugh Grant.
Editor of The Daily Telegraph at the time of the Inquiry. He joined the Daily Mail as a reporter in 1990, rising to Assistant Editor in 2006, before moving to The Daily Telegraph as Head of News in the same year. Testified that having met with then Prime Minister David Cameron three times in 2011, and with then Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne and Leader of the Opposition Ed Miliband on a similar number of occasions, that did not give him "influence" over politicians. Told the Inquiry that the Press Complaints Commission was not fit for purpose without an "investigative arm". He was appointed editor-in-chief of The Sun in September 2015.
Editor of the Belfast Telegraph at the time of the Inquiry and a former editor of The Scotsman and the Evening Telegraph. Gilson was a member of PCC Code Committee between 2003 and 2009.
Satirist, journalist, Private Eye editor and broadcaster. Told the Inquiry that his publication was against regulation. The activities in focus at the Inquiry, such as phone hacking, contempt of court and police taking money, were all already illegal, he said. What was required was enforcement of existing laws. "The secret of investigative journalism is people ring you up and tell you things," he told the Inquiry (quoting his old friend Paul Foot).
David Hunt, Conservative politician and former member of Cabinet during the Margaret Thatcher and John Major administrations, was appointed chairman of Press Complaints Commission as the Leveson Inquiry was getting underway (replacing Baroness Buscombe). He said he hoped to lead "wholesale regeneration and renewal of the system of independent self-regulation of the press".
Chairman of Press Complaints Commission from 2003 to 2009. During a long diplomatic career preceding this role he was, notably, press secretary to then Foreign Secretary Geoffrey Howe (1984-1988), government spokesman and press secretary to then Prime Minister John Major (1994-1996) and British Ambassador to the United States (1997-2003). At the Inquiry, he stated his belief that "any state regulation of the press was, in principle, offensive" and a "slippery slope" that could lead to authoritarian governments eroding freedom of expression. He defended the record of the PCC under his chairmanship, including a 2007 report into phone hacking which found there was "no evidence" of widespread voicemail interception beyond Clive Goodman, the News of The World reporter jailed for this activity at the time.
Mockridge gave testimony as Chief Executive Officer of News International Group Limited, the role previously held by Rebekah Brooks, and provided information on several newspapers, including The Times and The Sun. Questioned about Rupert Murdoch's views on self-regulation of the press. Told the Inquiry that having only been in the UK a few months (he was previously in New Zealand and Australia) he was of the view that British press freedoms were envied by many around the world.
British journalist, broadcaster and, at the time of giving evidence, editor of The Sun newspaper. Mohan was instrumental in the Live 8 charity concert, having conceived the idea of re-recording Band Aid’s "Do They Know It's Christmas?" in 2004. Mohan told the Inquiry that The Sun took the PCC code very seriously and that the News International staff handbook was a comprehensive guide to the behaviour expected of Sun journalists.
Former editor of the News of the World (2007-11) and in post when the paper ceased publication on 10 July 2011 following the phone-hacking investigation scandal. He gave evidence to the Inquiry that phone-hacking preceded his arrival but that he had felt “uneasy” about metaphorical “bombs under the newsroom floor”. In 2012, Myler became editor-in-chief of the New York City Daily News.
Editor of the Daily Star since 2003 at the time of giving evidence. Neesom worked on Woman’s Own, before joining The Sun as feature writer and later features editor. Told the Inquiry that in 2011 the paper had withdrawn from the PCC believing that the body had ceased trying to resolve disputes and its decisions had become more political. The paper would not use material that it believed to be illegally sourced, she said.
A Core Participant Victim, the Harry Potter author challenged news publishers over intrusion into her private life on numerous occasions. Gave evidence of snatched photos of her family and her residence.
Toulmin worked as Director of the Press Complaints Commission from 2004 to 2009, having worked at the PCC since 1996. Gave evidence on the workings of the PCC and the limits of its powers. He told the Inquiry that the PCC had been happy to raise awareness of legal restrictions on journalists, but that it could not formally regulate possible offences such as hacking, computer hacking, "blagging" and bribery and/or corruption.
John Wakeham, former Conservative Party politician and former Chairman of the Press Complaints Commission. Between 1998 and 2012, he was Chancellor of Brunel University, and since then has been appointed its Chancellor Emeritus. He was a director of Enron from 1994 until its bankruptcy in 2001. Gave his view that statutory regulation would be acrimonious and hard to achieve.
Editor of the Sunday Mirror at the time of giving evidence, a role she had held for 10 years. In addition, she had been a member of the Press Complaints Commission since 2008. Gave detailed evidence of corporate governance at the Sunday Mirror and how the paper ensured lawful, professional and ethical conduct. Was asked to give details of a film made by Chris Atkins called "Starsuckers", a hoax set up to investigate whether tabloid newspapers would be willing to offer money for confidential medical records. Questioned about the film, Weaver made it clear that the Sunday Mirror had been approached but had never considered purchasing such material.
Editor of the Daily Express at the time of the Inquiry, having worked previously at The Sun, Daily Star and Daily Star Sunday. He supported Express Newspapers' withdrawal from the PCC, in part because of what he perceived as failures by the PCC to intervene over Madeleine McCann stories published in his own newspaper. He would never break the law intentionally, he told the Inquiry.
Born 1948, Virginia Bottomley was a British Conservative Party politician and former Secretary of State for Health and for Culture, Media and Sport. Stepped down from the House of Commons at the 2005 general election, and was offered a peerage later that year. Bottomley gave evidence to the Inquiry on the DCMS at the time of her appointment in 1995 and of debate about the 1990 Calcutt Report and issues of privacy and regulation.
Former Daily Mail picture editor, and picture editor of the Daily Mirror at the time of the Inquiry. Down was asked about Mirror Group Newspapers' policies on acquiring pictures and on digital faking of pictures. He told the Inquiry that the MGN picture desk would deal with tens of thousands of pictures a day. Staff or commissioned photographers would be expected to follow MGN codes of conduct, he said, adding that digital faking would not be acceptable but was increasingly hard to detect.
Founded 1992, with focus on improving quality of policy ideas for the UK and EU. It has produced studies promoting the design, effective use and subsequent audit of impact assessments. Offered evidence to the Inquiry on the failings of the Press Complaints Commission.
