Originally founded in 1905. National newspaper and website publisher, now known as DMG Media. Owners of titles such as the Daily Mail, MailOnline, the Mail on Sunday, Metro, Wowcher and Teletext Holidays, with an estimated annual revenue of £931m.
Father of Sam Banks, who died while holidaying in India in 2010. Banks gave evidence to the Inquiry regarding misreporting and unnecessary sensationalising of the death by The Sun. The paper's Managing Editor at the time apologised personally for a fabricated quote he said had been invented by a sub-editor.
Editor of the Birmingham Mail and Editor-in-Chief, Trinity Mirror Midlands. Brookes was appointed editor of the Birmingham Mail in November 2009 following 30 years as a journalist in the West Midlands, including editorships on the Coventry Telegraph and Sunday Mercury. Questioned at the Inquiry on Lord Black’s proposals for contractual obligations of newspapers, Brookes said he believed the proposal could be workable and still allow for freedom of the press.
Journalist, worked for The People from 1995 to 2006. He told the Inquiry that he had not personally been involved in phone hacking and had only anecdotal evidence of some cases.
A senior lecturer in English, media and cultural studies at Wolverhampton University, Byrne submitted evidence to the Inquiry that rather than printing apologies or publishing corrections, a more effective deterrent against media breaching codes of conduct would be to suspend rights of publication for a time, thus compromising their revenue.
Picture editor of the Mail on Sunday at the time of Inquiry, having previously worked on Today and the News of the World. Described procedures and code of practice followed by the picture desk. Outlined the picture sources used and said she personally reviewed most of the 20,000 pictures that came in each day. Stated that she had never sought intrusive snatched pictures of Charlotte Church and that the MoS had not commissioned pictures of Kate McCann.
Victim of misrepresentation in the British media, with false reports of her lifestyle and fashion choices. Cunliffe complained to the PCC with little response. She told her story to the Leveson Inquiry and was later given apologies by the Daily Mail and Guardian, who blamed the source of their story, having purchased the article from an agency. Told the Leveson Inquiry that the Express continued to run the story and had not responded to emails.
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.
Early Resolution CIC was set up as a not-for-profit company by Sir Charles Gray, retired high-court libel judge, and Alastair Brett, former legal manager of The Times and Sunday Times, to help litigants locked in libel disputes resolve differences quickly, fairly and cost-effectively.
At the time of the Inquiry, Joint Managing Director of Northern & Shell, publishers of Express Newspapers until 2018 when purchased by Trinity Mirror. Gave evidence relating to Express Newspapers' staff procedures and ethical standards and the financial procedures which Ellice believed ensured proper financial governance.
Multi-language newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper covers general-interest topics, with a focus on news about China and human-rights issues there. Explicitly opposed to the Communist Party of China. Gave evidence to the Inquiry of attempts by China to prevent circulation and sales of Epoch Times in the UK.
Journalist and radio and television executive, Forgan was editor of The Guardian's women's pages from 1978 to 1982 and a Guardian columnist from 1997 to 1998 before becoming a non-executive director of Guardian Media Group in 1998. She held senior director roles at both Channel 4 and the BBC, and in 2006 was made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to Radio Broadcasting. At the time of the Inquiry, Forgan was Chair of the Scott Trust, which owns The Guardian, and gave evidence on its structure and aims.
Councillor in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets since 2006 and leader of the opposition Conservative Group on the council since 2007. Previously Golds served as a councillor in the London Borough of Brent between 1990-1998.
Ex-wife of Bruce Grobbelaar, the former footballer exposed in 1984 by The Sun for accepting bribes to throw football matches. Deborah Grobbelaar gave evidence of intense media intrusion over 17 years throughout high-profile court cases, bankruptcies and the Grobbelaar’s divorce.
At time of giving evidence, Hatfield was Editor of "i", the newspaper's first editor. Described the origin of "i" as a shorter version of the daily Independent intended for people who wanted a quicker, digested read. As a policy, the paper had little interest in celebrity stories or stories of a private nature, Hatfield said. The news values and legal checks were the same as for The Independent. All "i" journalists were contractually obliged to work to the letter and spirit of the Press Complaints Commission's Editorial Code of Practice (PCC Code), he said.
Lawyer and former Group General Counsel at The Independent and Evening Standard, a role she held for 17 years. Gave evidence on how legal issues were identified and dealt with on those papers.
Crime reporter of the Daily Star Sunday at the time of giving evidence, having previously worked as a journalist in Cheshire and Liverpool. Said that he had little experience of working with the Metropolitan Police but had enjoyed occasional drinks and on one occasion a longer chat. His contacts were more generally formal, via press conferences, he said. He also answered questions on off-the-record briefings.
Editor-in-chief of the Manchester Evening News and Trinity Mirror Huddersfield at time of giving evidence. Was questioned on the Lord Black proposals for self-regulation based on contractual obligations. Decisions on this would not be his responsibility, he said. The decision would be taken by Trinity Mirror's senior management. Gave his view that the relationship with the Press Complaints Commission had worked well for the regional press.
Author, newspaper columnist and editor. Jenkins was editor of the Evening Standard from 1976 to 1978 and of The Times from 1990 to 1992. At the time of giving evidence, he was writing columns for both The Guardian and Evening Standard. He lauded the end of sycophancy in today's journalism and said he saw no need for new institutions to regulate the profession. He said that he saw the closing of a paper and imprisoning of journalists a good demonstration of the effectiveness of self-regulation.
Journalist and picture editor of the Daily Express at the time of the Inquiry, having previously worked for the South London Star and the Evening Standard. Was asked about the use of photographs of Hugh Grant and Kate McCann and about snatched photographs of Charlotte Church.
