Belcher made a statement at the Inquiry on behalf of Trans Media Watch, a charity dedicated to improving the media coverage of trans or intersex issues. Belcher was a founder of the organisation and is a long-term campaigner for British transgender rights.
Media Secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain until 2010. Gave evidence at the Inquiry on behalf of ENGAGE, a Muslim advocacy organisation aiming to encourage greater civic participation among British Muslims. Has written for The Times, Daily Telegraph, Guardian, Daily Express, Observer and Sun, focusing on Islam and current affairs, and been co-presenter of the weekly Politics and Media Show on the Islam Channel.
London-based journalist, author and media campaigner. Former foreign correspondent with Reuters and Foreign Editor and then Deputy Editor of the Independent on Sunday. Professor of Journalism at Kingston University London at time of giving evidence and specialist adviser to the House of Commons Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport which produced the report "Press standards, libel and privacy" (2010). Gave evidence to the Leveson Inquiry on teaching journalism ethics and standards. In 2011, co-founded Hacked Off to campaign for a free and accountable press.
Born 1961, died 2014. British trade-union leader who served as General Secretary of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) from 2002 until his death. Member of the General Council of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and self-described "communist/socialist". Crow gave evidence that he was under constant surveillance by the press, suffering considerable intrusion into his public and private life. He gave the Inquiry examples of intrusion which he believed relied on illicit surveillance and/or phone hacking.
A journalist and broadcaster, Diamond was, at the time of the Inquiry, a regular columnist at the Daily Mail and co-host of Good Morning Britain. Diamond gave evidence of invasive scrutiny by the press of her private life, including stories which were the subject of libel actions against national newspapers – in particular, The Sun. Diamond gave evidence of being hounded by paparazzi and invasive reporting of private grief when she suffered the bereavement of a child.
The parents of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, whose voicemails were intercepted by the News of the World, leading to the misconception that Milly had been receiving her messages and was therefore alive. The unearthing of this practice sparked the investigations and subsequent court action against those involved, which in turn led to the establishment of the Leveson Inquiry. Designated Core Participant Victims in the Inquiry.
Former Chief Executive of the Independent Police Complaints Commission and Deputy Chair of the homelessness charity Crisis until 2016.
English actor and film producer. Dealt in detail with his concerns about his treatment by the press, including the reporting in relation to stories concerning his daughter and his concerns about the way in which particular journalists had accessed that information. Grant was also appointed spokesperson for the campaign group Hacked Off.
Spokeswoman for now-defunct housing charity Eaves for Women. Gave evidence strongly supporting the principle of freedom of expression but also expressed her concern that such freedom did not always match up to the high ideals of journalism.
Journalist, writer and campaigner. Hipwell worked on the Daily Mirror's financial column City Slickers, offering financial news, gossip and share tips. In February 2000, he was fired following allegations that the "Slickers" had been giving tips about companies in which he held stock. He was charged, convicted and imprisoned for financial criminal activity. He told the Inquiry that he had witnessed phone-hacking at the Mirror.
Director of Equality Now, who has spearheaded several campaigns, including for the creation of a United Nations Working Group to focus on ending discrimination against women in law and in practice. Gave evidence to the Inquiry about the UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women and that Committee's concern about the "lack of positive media portrayals of ethnic minority, elderly women and women with disabilities".
Editor of the East Anglian Daily Times at the time of the Inquiry, having joined the paper in 1979 as a trainee reporter. During his time as Editor, he said, the EADT launched many campaigns aimed at improving life for communities in Suffolk and north Essex including fighting for much-needed road and rail improvements, battling for faster broadband in rural areas, and working with partners to improve educational standards.
Executive Director of Imkaan, a UK-based black and minority ethnic women's organisation, at time of Inquiry. Imkaan aimed to prevent and respond to violence against marginalised girls and women. Larasi also co-chaired the End Violence Against Women Coalition, which became a registered charity in 2015. She asked the press to avoid reproducing attitudes which condoned violence against women and girls.
Charity campaigner, television personality and public speaker, Mills gave evidence that she had begun receiving negative scrutiny by the press after her relationship with and subsequent marriage to Paul McCartney. Mills was the subject of multiple false stories in national newspapers, particularly referring to her disability, for some of which libels she received damages.
Member of the public who sought to draw attention to the security loopholes of mobile phone message services, in particular concerning the remote accessing of voicemails. Some 10 years before message-hacking became news, he alerted his phone company to the simplicity of hacking phone messages. When the company was reluctant to act, he spoke to journalists. In evidence to the Inquiry, he said that after contacting both the Daily Mirror and The Sun, he feared the press was deliberately keeping the issue secret in order to continue to access voicemails themselves. He contacted a variety of agencies, including the police and his MP, and ultimately started a website to promote the information.
A full-time academic and freelance journalist, Petley has campaigned for a free press that maintains openness and public accountability. Professor of Journalism at Brunel University London at time of submitting evidence and a member of the editorial board of the British Journalism Review and the advisory board of Index on Censorship. Also a member of the National Council of the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom and supporter of Hacked Off. He argued for a media free from restrictions which hinder the performance of proper social functions, and also for a media that lives up to standards of openness and public accountability.
National Officer for Police Staff at UNISON at time of Inquiry. Media training was available to Police Staff (ie non-officer employees), he said.
British journalist, novelist and human-rights activist. Former chair of the Writers in Prison committee in the English section of International PEN and former Executive Director of Hacked Off. A Core Participant Victim, Smith gave evidence to the Inquiry of being told by her MP partner Denis MacShane that their phones had been hacked. The police confirmed that details of their conversations and meetings had been acquired by Glenn Mulcaire on behalf of the News of the World. She described the hacking as a sickening invasion of her privacy.
Chief Executive Officer of Object, a human-rights organisation set up to challenge the sexual objectification of women and girls in the media. Heeswijk argued that the Inquiry had a unique opportunity to put the hyper-sexualisation of women on the reform agenda.
Former Director of British Irish Rights Watch, an independent non-governmental human-rights organisation. At the time of the Inquiry, an active member of the Hacked Off campaign, after learning of the hacking of her emails while working with BIRW. She expressed her concerns to the Inquiry at the length of time the police might have known of this hacking before contacting her.
