Leveson Inquiry In Public Life

Impact of the Leveson Inquiry in British Public Life The Leveson Inquiry, also called an inquiry “into the culture, practices and ethics of the press” is a public juridical inquiry following the News International phone hacking scandal. The Inquiry was announced by Prime Minister James Cameron and Lord Justice Leveson was appointed as a judge in the hearings, which were opened on 14 November 2011. The inquiry was divided into four parts. In general, it addresses relationships the press has with public police and politicians and offers regulations to support integrity and freedom of the press while keeping the ethics of the press. The hearings took place in the Inquiry Room at the Royal Courts of Justice in London and were open to public.

On 29 November 2012 the Part 1 of the Inquiry was published (since the current police investigations have not been completed yet, the Part 2 of the Inquiry cannot be initiated), where Lord Justice Leveson made some recommendations where he suggest that the newspapers should continue to be self-regulated and a new regulation body should replace PCC (Press Complaints Commission).This new body should be underpinned by legislation. PCC was being criticized for not being effective since it didn’t protect the public from abuse - like invasion of privacy, harassment, inaccuracy and unfairness, inadequate redress – that was reveal mainly during the phone hacking incident. It was also revealed that certain third parties were working on their behalf, giving them the opportunity to hack into the phones or emails of known people (such as victims of a crime, celebrities or politicians), intimidate or bribe public figures or sources, which might led to compromising or jeopardizing police investigations. Prime Minister David Cameron later showed his support for Leveson’s recommendation and welcomed many of his findings, but also showed serious “concerns and misgivings” on

“When everything is visible, and available, what do we report? Should we record phone conversation and use new techniques in lie detection to determine who is telling the truth?” Liberty, also known as the National Council for Civil Liberties delivered an announcement. Welcoming Leveson’s report, they highlighted those parts which are considered to be the most helpful to the public. “Ordinary members of the public would have access to an inexpensive regulatory and complaints system independent of serving editors and politicians. It would bring readier and cheaper access to justice with a body that had more powers, was more independent and had more clout than PCC”. Unlike Emily Bell, Liberty also believed that “this system would be able to keep up with internet as it wouldn’t be necessary to define what is meant by press” They suggested that bloggers and others would be able to “set up their own group(s) benefiting from the same potential incentives and the public would have the same potential opportunities of redress”. On Monday 8 September 2014, the