Company Secretary of Guardian Media Group PLC (GMG) from 2001 and of the Scott Trust from 2004. Provided evidence relating to the board meetings of both organisations.
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.
Chief Executive Officer of the Guardian Media Group from 2010 to 2015. Previously Chief Financial Officer of the Trader Media Group from 2004 to 2009, and of the Guardian Media Group from 2009 to 2010.
John Mulholland was editor of the The Observer at the time of the Inquiry, having worked for the Guardian Media Group since 1994. He gave evidence that all staff were obliged to abide by the PCC code of conduct as well as the more rigorous GNM editorial code. Contributors were similarly expected to abide by the codes. There were strict procedures in place for any journalist wishing to go undercover or use any form of subterfuge. The Observer had, he said, used the services of a private investigator under an earlier editor.
The Manchester Evening News is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester; following its sale by Guardian Media Group in early 2010, it became owned by Trinity Mirror plc. Editor Maria McGeoghan gave evidence that the paper worked to the Trinity Mirror Code of Business Conduct. She gave examples of how that worked in practice and cited examples where the paper had held off publishing information on grounds of privacy.
