Adwent was a senior crime reporter for the East Anglican Daily Times and Evening Star Ipswich at the time of the Inquiry. He gave evidence regarding the relationship between Suffolk Police and the media.
British journalist and documentary film-maker. In 2009, Atkins wrote and directed a film, Starsuckers, about press treatment of celebrities and the selling of false information to press outlets. Gave evidence to the Inquiry of the off-the-record accounts he had been given about the working practices of tabloid journalists.
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."
Chairman of Telegraph Media Group, a subsidiary of Press Holdings and responsible for The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph. He told the Inquiry he believed in “self-regulation”.
British journalist and former editor of The Independent newspaper. After studying law, Blackhurst also worked for The Sunday Times, Daily Express and Evening Standard. Gave detailed responses to the proposals of Lord Black on behalf of The Independent group.
Television journalist and Political Editor of Sky News at the time of the Inquiry. Boulton gave evidence of his experience of the interaction of politicians and the media. He suggested that healthy relations between political journalists and politicians broke down during Tony Blair’s years in office and spoke of his concern at attempts by politicians to manipulate news agendas.
Professor and Head of Journalism at City, University of London at time of giving evidence. Prior to this appointment in 2009, Brock had worked at The Times for 28 years. He gave examples of how ethics was taught within the Department of Journalism courses.
Journalist and former newspaper editor. CEO of News International from 2009 to 2011, having previously been the youngest editor of a British national newspaper (at the News of the World from 2000 to 2003) and the first female editor of The Sun (from 2003 to 2009). Brooks was a prominent figure in the News International phone-hacking scandal, having been editor of the News of the World when illegal phone-hacking was carried out. Following a criminal trial in 2014, she was cleared of all charges by a jury at the Old Bailey, which accepted her defence that she had no knowledge of the illegal acts carried out at the newspaper she edited.
British journalist and editor. Founding Editor-in-Chief of The Huffington Post UK before switching to the world of trend forecasting and business insights at WGSN. Buzasi has been listed as one of Management Today’s “35 Under 35”. Told Inquiry that she did not think further statutory regulation would resolve the kind of issues “giving rise to this Inquiry”.
London-based journalist, author and media campaigner. Former foreign correspondent with Reuters and Foreign Editor and then Deputy Editor of the Independent on Sunday. Professor of Journalism at Kingston University London at time of giving evidence and specialist adviser to the House of Commons Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport which produced the report "Press standards, libel and privacy" (2010). Gave evidence to the Leveson Inquiry on teaching journalism ethics and standards. In 2011, co-founded Hacked Off to campaign for a free and accountable press.
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.
Former editor of regional daily newspaper the Yorkshire Post, a post he stepped down from in 2013 after for 9 years. Also former Editorial Director of Johnston Press (Yorkshire) so was responsible for the company’s editorial operations in Scarborough, Wakefield, Harrogate and Halifax as well as Leeds. Prior to the Yorkshire Post, Peter edited the Sheffield Star from 1992 to 2004 and The Gazette, Blackpool, from 1988-1992. He was instrumental in highlighting manufacturing by introducing the ‘Made in Sheffield’ dinner and established the Yorkshire Post business and environment award ceremonies and the Taste Awards, which honoured the region’s food producers.
Former journalist and Senior Information Officer for Specialist Operations at Scotland Yard Service at the time of the Inquiry. Was questioned in detail about her contacts with former Assistant Commissioner John Yates and his connections and contacts with News of the World staff. Was asked similar questions about former Assistant Commissioner Andy Hayman and the Metropolitan Police recruitment of a PR firm owned by Neil Wallis, then an executive editor of the News of the World, who was later charged and cleared in the 2011 phone-hacking scandal.
Former journalist and founder of PR company Max Clifford Associates, which dealt with protecting the public image of famous stars and events. He had been the victim of phone-hacking by the News of the World along with several of his clients. In 2014, Clifford was found guilty of eight counts of indecent assault on four girls and women aged between 15 and 19. He died on 10 December 2017.
Journalist and political strategist, Andy Coulson was editor of the News of the World from 2003 until his resignation in 2007, following the conviction of one of the newspaper's reporters in relation to illegal phone-hacking. David Cameron appointed Coulson as communications director in 2007. Coulson resigned on 21 January 2011 as reports of News of the World phone hacking intensified. He was arrested 8 July 2011 and in 2014 found guilty of conspiracy to intercept voicemail, serving five months of an 18-month sentence.
Journalist and editor of the Daily Mail at time of giving evidence. Was also editor-in-chief of DMG Media, which publishes the Daily Mail, the Mail on Sunday, Metro, the Mailonline website and other titles. Dacre was a member of the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) from 1999 to 2008, leaving to chair the PCC's Editors' Code of Practice Committee. After giving evidence to the Leveson Inquiry about his views on regulation, he was later recalled to answer accusations made against the Mail by actor Hugh Grant.
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."
A journalist and broadcaster, Diamond was, at the time of the Inquiry, a regular columnist at the Daily Mail and co-host of Good Morning Britain. Diamond gave evidence of invasive scrutiny by the press of her private life, including stories which were the subject of libel actions against national newspapers – in particular, The Sun. Diamond gave evidence of being hounded by paparazzi and invasive reporting of private grief when she suffered the bereavement of a child.
Editor since 1999 of the Irish News, a daily newspaper based in Belfast. Told the Inquiry that the implications of the PCC were frequently discussed at editorial meetings and that the PCC had never ruled that the Irish News had been in breach of the Code. He firmly believed none of his staff had been involved in phone-hacking nor made any payments to private investigators.
Edmondson was news editor at the News of the World at the time of the Inquiry and answered questions on practices of phone-hacking and surveillance at that paper. In April 2011 he was arrested by the Metropolitan Police as part of Operation Weeting, which investigated phone hacking, and subsequently sentenced to seven months in prison for conspiring to intercept voicemail messages.
