At the time of giving evidence in 2011, Bailey was Chief Executive of Trinity Mirror publishers, a post to which she was appointed in 2003. Following allegations of hacking, Bailey launched an investigation into the ethics and procedures in place within Mirror Group's publications, she told the Inquiry. In 2012, following substantial drops in circulation and profits, she was asked by Trinity Mirror to resign. During her time at the Mirror, she told the Inquiry in 2011, authorisation of payments, expenses and the costs of pursuing stories were delegated to editors of the Mirror titles. The use of private investigators was banned after the convictions of Clive Goodman and Glenn Mulcaire. She was asked what she would know of stories pre-publication, replying that she would have been told, for example, of a famous model's alleged use of cocaine, or a politician's affair, "so that they would not come as a surprise" to her the next day.
Editor of the Financial Times at the time of the Inquiry. Testified regarding ethics and procedures in place within his publication. Gave his personal view that the PCC code "needs to be enforced before it is substantially amended... In the case of phone hacking it clearly was not enforced."
Director of the Goldsmiths Leverhulme Media Research Centre and Professor of Communications at Goldsmiths, University of London. While at Goldsmiths, Curran held a number of visiting appointments including McClatchy Professor (Stanford), Annenberg Professor (UPenn), Bonnier Professor (Stockholm University) and NRC Professor (Oslo University). Told the Inquiry that he believed that a relationship had developed between the British press and politicians that was bad for journalism and bad for government. This had been characterised by periods of hostility punctuated by periods of close alliance as in the late 1930s and the mid-Thatcher era.
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.
Editor of The Daily Telegraph at the time of the Inquiry. He joined the Daily Mail as a reporter in 1990, rising to Assistant Editor in 2006, before moving to The Daily Telegraph as Head of News in the same year. Testified that having met with then Prime Minister David Cameron three times in 2011, and with then Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne and Leader of the Opposition Ed Miliband on a similar number of occasions, that did not give him "influence" over politicians. Told the Inquiry that the Press Complaints Commission was not fit for purpose without an "investigative arm". He was appointed editor-in-chief of The Sun in September 2015.
At the time of giving evidence, Horgan was Emeritus Professor of Journalism at Dublin City University and the first Irish Press Ombudsman, a post from which he stepped down in 2014. His career has been in print and broadcast journalism, politics (as a member of the Irish Senate) and academia.
Senior lecturer in philosophy in the Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion at Lancaster University. Submitted research studies to the Inquiry on the ethics of communication and knowledge.
MP for West Bromwich East and a member of the House of Commons Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Select Committee. He told the Inquiry that he stepped down as a minister in 2009 due to "unwarranted media intrusion" into his family life that year. The Inquiry acknowledged that he had taken an active role in monitoring the culture, practices and ethics of the Press since then. Told the Inquiry that News International commissioned a private investigator to trail him in 2009 over false claims of an affair, for which James Murdoch had apologised in evidence to the DCMS Select Committee. Watson described a "craven" relationship between the highest levels of government and News International. Played a robust role in the DCMS Select Committee investigation into phone hacking and subsequent report (2012), which stated that parliament had been misled by News International employees.
British lawyer and member of Doughty Street Chambers in London, practising criminal law since 1986 and appointed Queen's Counsel in 2010. Writes a blog, Nothing Like the Sun, subtitled "an occasional blog on legal and other matters that interest me", and gave evidence on the ethics of blogging.
Founded 1866. Registered charity in the UK and the oldest penal-reform organisation in the world, named after John Howard. The charity focuses on penal reform in England and Wales. Submitted evidence of the misrepresentation of the nature of crime and sentencing as well as misleading sensationalism in cases such as that of "Baby P", where The Sun called for its readers to campaign for higher sentencing.
Now known as the Press Council of Ireland and responsible for the oversight of professional principles embodied in a Code of Practice, and with upholding the freedom of the press. Press Ombudsman John Horgan told the Inquiry that the independence of the body from both industry and state was vital. Every major newspaper in Ireland had been the subject of critical adverse findings, he said.
British journalist and editor of The Sunday Telegraph at the time of the Inquiry. He said he believed his paper was run according to high ethical standards. He was a firm believer in self-regulation but thought that a contract system as outlined by Lord Black could be a free and fair way forward.
Established in 2009 as a campaign to boost public support for a change in how Britain deals with lower-level offenders, Make Justice Work urges a switch from expensive and futile short prison terms to intensive and effective sanctions. Told the Inquiry that the tabloid press too often represented community solutions as "soft options".
Journalist and former editor-in-chief of ITN News. Stepped down in 2011 to become special adviser to ITN’s chief executive. Gave evidence to the Inquiry on working practices at ITN: “We would not set out to discover and broadcast stories of the sexual indiscretions of celebrities … unless there was a wider issue of public importance.”
Dutch Press Council News responsible for the examination of complaints against violations of good journalistic practice. Submitted evidence on its work and of its belief in press self-regulation.
TV critic of the Sunday Mirror for six years at time of Inquiry and for the Daily Mirror for eight years before that. He had never engaged in or asked others to engage in computer hacking, he told the Inquiry, adding that to the best of his knowledge neither had anyone at the Sunday Mirror or Daily Mirror.
CEO of the Financial Times Group. At the time of giving evidence, he had been with the FT for 25 years in both editorial and executive positions. Ethical journalism was central to the FT's strategy and success and had been for 120 years, he told the Inquiry. A founding and current principle of the newspaper was, he said, that it would report "without fear and without favour".
Managing editor of the Evening Standard and The Independent, having joined the Standard in 1987. At the time of giving evidence in 2011, he managed both titles and outlined their policies on payment for information and internal codes of conduct.
Founded 1888. English-language international daily newspaper with an emphasis on business and economic news. Editor Lionel Barber, contributing editor John Lloyd and FT solicitor Timothy Bratton all gave evidence to the Inquiry.
