Burden has been a successful writer and entrepreneur for 20 years. His most recent book “News of the world? Fake Sheikhs & Royal Trappings” stirred up controversy by exposing the methods of those who make a living exposing others. He is a frequent commentator on matters concerning the right to privacy and blogs regularly on the subject.
Writer and editor of UK edition of the worldwide celebrity gossip magazine, OK!. Gave evidence along with Hello! and Heat editors. She told the Inquiry that OK! was a celebrity-friendly magazine and that it was therefore in its own interests to treat celebrities with respect.
Editor in Chief of Heat magazine and the Heat brand, spanning Heat radio, heatworld.com and Heat TV. Outlined procedures at the magazine for ensuring that high ethical standards were maintained.
British investigative journalist, writer and documentary-maker. Davies has written as a freelance, and for The Guardian and The Observer, and has been named Reporter of the Year, Journalist of the Year and Feature Writer of the Year at the British Press Awards. Davies, with colleague Amelia Hill, broke the phone-hacking story that led to the closure of the News of the World and to the establishing of the Leveson Inquiry. He told Lord Leveson: "I don't think this is an industry that is interested in or capable of self-regulation. The history of the [Press Complaints Commission] undermines the whole concept of self-regulation."
Editor of The Sunday Times from 1967 to 1981 and of The Times from 1981 to 1982, the period of the takeover of the papers by Rupert Murdoch's News International. Sir Harold resigned the editorship of The Times in 1982, claiming editorial interference from Murdoch, whom he described when editor as "evil incarnate". At the time of giving evidence, Sir Harold was continuing his career as a journalist and writer, primarily in North America. He said at the Inquiry that the political will for News International's takeover of the papers facilitated it happening, referencing a private meeting between then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Rupert Murdoch.
Director of the Science Media Centre at time of the Inquiry. She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2013 Birthday Honours for services to science. Was asked by the Inquiry to submit guidelines on the reporting of science and health stories.
Born 1971. British lawyer and writer. Green is a former legal correspondent for the New Statesman, a columnist on law and policy for the Financial Times and also blogs as Jack of Kent. Has written on legal matters for The Guardian, The Lawyer, New Scientist and other publications. Gave his views to the Inquiry on regulation and self-regulation, and asked the Inquiry not to interpret the phrase “freedom of the press” as referring just to the rights and privileges of the press.
Writer and journalist over 25 years for papers including the Daily Mail and Evening Standard. Hanning was deputy editor of The Independent on Sunday at the time of the Inquiry. An Old Etonian, he also co-wrote "Cameron", a biography of David Cameron, with Francis Elliott. Offered evidence at the Inquiry about Andy Coulson's appointment by Cameron and on what he knew about phone hacking at the News of the World.
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.
Former member of British Military Intelligence and author of a book highlighting aspects of his service in Northern Ireland under the pseudonym Martin Ingram. He told the Inquiry that he and his family had been hacked by the now defunct News of the World: "The documentation that I've seen and others have seen, including Parliamentarians, clearly shows the corruptness which was allowed to continue and the culture was encouraged ... It would not have taken place over such a sustained period if it hadn't had the cover and the protection of very senior police officers," he told the Inquiry.
Journalist, author and Investigations Executive Editor of The Guardian at the time of the Inquiry. Gave evidence on sources and responsibility to protect them and on the Guardian’s ethical and anti-bribery and corruption policies.
Gave evidence to the Inquiry as statutory Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime (DMPC). From January 2010 to January 2012, he was Chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority (the "MPA"). His public statement that too many police resources were being allocated to the phone-hacking inquiry led some politicians to calls for his resignation.
Award-winning writer, director and producer who has written for Daily Star, Guardian, Netflix, Channel 4, Amazon, the BBC and others. Gave evidence about working for the Daily Star, and of the pressure to write contrived stories to please the editor. He told the Inquiry that there was a maxim at the paper that some stories were "too good to check". Peppiatt wrote an open letter to Richard Desmond when resigning from the Daily Star, accusing the paper of demonising Muslims, supporting the English Defence League (EDL), fabricating stories, ignoring foreign news and paying low wages to staff. A campaign of vilification against him followed, he told the Inquiry.
Designated a Core Participant at the Inquiry, Rowland was a claimant in the litigation against News International regarding phone hacking. He told the Inquiry he had been shown evidence that someone had attempted to hack his voicemails 100 times in 2005, when he had been working for the Mail on Sunday and the Times. At the time of the Inquiry, he had been a journalist or freelance writer for 30 years, having written for the Daily Telegraph, Evening Standard and The Times. Had also worked as a TV presenter and author.
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.
Journalist, columnist and editor and, at the time of the Inquiry, editor-in-chief of The Guardian, a position he held from 1995 to 2015. His evidence to the Inquiry covered questions of press ethics and the relationship of editors and journalists to their owners and to politicians. Rusbridger stood down as editor-in-chief of the Guardian in May 2015 to take up the role of Chair of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
John Stevens was Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis (head of the Metropolitan Police Service) from 2000 until 2005. From 1991 to 1996, he was Chief Constable of Northumbria Police before being appointed one of HM Inspectors of Constabulary in September 1996. He was then appointed Deputy Commissioner of the Met in 1998 until his promotion to Commissioner in 2000. Told the Inquiry that he had set out to develop a close relationship with the media.
British journalist who worked for the News of the World for 21 years before being dismissed in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal in 2011. Thurlbeck was arrested as part of Operation Weeting and was subsequently sacked by News International. He later sued for unfair dismissal and settled the case in court. His memoir, Tabloid Secrets: The Stories Behind the Headlines at the World's Most Famous Newspaper, was published in May 2015.
Former journalist and founder in 1990 of the British Association of Journalists, a group which had broken away from the National Union of Journalists following a bitter dispute within the NUJ over negotiations about mergers with print unions. At the time of giving evidence, the BAJ was the recognised union for journalists working within MGN Ltd and claimed around 1,150 members. Turner gave evidence of the deep-seated culture of bullying and corporate greed that existed in the national press. He requested Lord Justice Leveson to enable journalists to give evidence to the Inquiry secretly and be guaranteed anonymity. Steve Turner died in May 2016.
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.
