Senior Lecturer in Journalism at Sheffield University at time of giving evidence with experience as a staff and freelance journalist working on all types of media ranging from local weekly publications to national newspapers and magazines. Harcup told the Inquiry that he had been conducting research into journalistic ethics over the previous decade and gave evidence on how a "conscience clause" (as proposed by the National Union of Journalists) might work. Harcup's publications at that time included "The Ethical Journalist" (2007) and a research paper, "Journalists and ethics: the quest for a collective voice" (2002).