The BPPA was founded in 1984 to promote and inspire high ethical, technical and creative standards. In written evidence, it said that its members included a large percentage of the country's frontline news photographers. It had successfully established guidelines by which all UK police forces now worked with photographers. The BPPA unsuccessfully sought Core Participant status at the Inquiry arguing that its members would be subject to significant criticism throughout the hearing. It pointed out typical dilemmas for its members arising from the hearing itself. Photographers had discussed whether it was right to photograph witnesses arriving and departing, as for a straightforward news story, for instance. The continuous use of pejorative terms such as "paparazzi", when referring to the very wide spectrum of news photographers, harmed their collective reputation, it said.
