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Leveson Inquiry

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The Leveson Inquiry[1] is an enquiry into issues arising from 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 named 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.[2]

Panel

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 media. He also announced a panel of six people who will work with the judge on the inquiry:[3]

Scope and process

On 14 September 2011, the Leveson Inquiry issued a press release[4] providing background, scope, and procedural plans for the inquiry.

Part 1 of the Leveson Inquiry will address:

"the culture, practices and ethics of the press, including contacts between the press and politicians and the press and the police; it is to consider the extent to which the current regulatory regime has failed and whether there has been a failure to act upon any previous warnings about media misconduct."[4]

This part is split into four separate modules:

  • The Press and the Public
  • The Press and the Police
  • The Press and Politicians
  • The Future.

Part 2 of the inquiry will address:

"the extent of unlawful or improper conduct within News International, other media organisations or other organisations. It will also consider the extent to which any relevant police force investigated allegations relating to News International, and whether the police received corrupt payments or were otherwise complicit in misconduct."[4]

Part 2 will be addressed later because of ongoing investigations by law enforcement organizations.

Core participants

The 14 September 2011 press release[4] also named forty-six celebrities, 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.[5] A core participant, according to Rule 5 of the Inquiries Rules 2006, “played, or may have played, a direct and significant role in relation to the matters to which the inquiry relates”, "has a significant interest in an important aspect of the matters to which the inquiry relates” or “may be subject to explicit or significant criticism during the inquiry proceedings or in the report, or in any interim 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.[6]

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 Freud, a PR executive married to Elisabeth Murdoch, the daughter of Rupert Murdoch.[7][8] These revelations led to a number of Labour MP calling for Leveson to be removed from the Inquiry.[9][10]

In September 2011, former Merseyside Police Inspector Alec Owens, the original lead investigator of ICO's 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.[11] 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, Ownes informed Lord Leveson by phone of the raid.[12]

See also

  • [1] Website for The Leveson Inquiry
  • [2] Leveson Inquiry Press Release (14 September 2011) "Ruling on Core Participants"

References

  1. ^ The Leveson Inquiry (Official website).
  2. ^ "Phone hacking: David Cameron announces terms of phone-hacking inquiry". The Telegraph. 13 July 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
  3. ^ Lisa O'Carroll (20 July 2011). "Phone-hacking inquiry extended to include broadcasters and social media". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
  4. ^ a b c d "Ruling on Core Participants" (PDF) (Press release). The Leveson Inquiry. 14 September 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  5. ^ O'Carroll, Lisa (14 September 2011). "Leveson phone-hacking inquiry: JK Rowling among 'core participants'". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  6. ^ "Statutory Instrument 2006 No. 1838 The Inquiry Rules 2006 (effective 1 August 2006)". The Inquiry Rules 2006. UK Laws Legal Portal. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  7. ^ "Phone hacking inquiry judge attended parties at home of Rupert Murdoch's son-in-law". The Telegraph. 22 July 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  8. ^ "MP calls for police to investigate Murdoch son over crucial email". London Evening Standard. 22 July 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2011.
  9. ^ "Miliband mulls MPs' demands to remove hacking-inquiry judge". The Independent. 24 July 2011. Retrieved 28 July 2011.
  10. ^ "Inquiry judge has links to Murdochs". Press TV. 23 July 2011. Retrieved 28 July 2011.
  11. ^ "Exposed after eight years: a private eye's dirty work for Fleet Street". The Independent. 14 September 2011. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  12. ^ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2063610/Leveson-inquiry-News-World-journalists-computers-grinder.html


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