The Press Police Politicians And Their Public

Simon Jack pursues the unfinished examination of press ethics launched by the Leveson inquiry.

When the high court judge Sir Brian Leveson was asked to conduct an inquiry into the culture and ethics of the British press in 2011 in the wake of the phone hacking scandal at the News of the World, it was meant to be divided into two parts. The first part revealed uncomfortable truths about some established journalistic practices. The second part was due to be held after related criminal court cases had been completed. These procedures finished in 2016, but in 2018 the government decided after all not to proceed with part two of the Leveson Inquiry. In the meantime some newspapers have been paying out millions of pounds in damages to victims of phone hacking to settle civil cases out of court.

So do we still need that fuller inspection of the relations between the press, the politicians and the police? And if the second part of the inquiry had gone ahead, what more might have been disclosed to the public? The BBC's Business Editor Simon Jack investigates.

Simon Jack pursues the unfinished scrutiny of press ethics launched by the Leveson inquiry