LEVESON INQUIRY:CULTURE, PRACTICE AND ETHICS OF THE PRESS
"I want this inquiry to mean something", not end up as "footnote in some professor of journalism's analysis of 21 century history." LJ Leveson in reply to A Rusbridger's submission to Inquiry. |
| Lord Justice Leveson |
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| (2008) - Editors (from left to right): Peter Hill, Daily Express; John Mulholland, the Observer; Robert Thomson, the Times; Richard Wallace, Daily Mirror; Alan Rusbridger, the Guardian; John Witherow, the Sunday Times; Lionel Barber, Financial Times; Tina Weaver, Sunday Mirror; Ian MacGregor, the Sunday Telegraph; Will Lewis, the Daily Telegraph; Colin Myler, News of the World; and Martin Townsend, Sunday Express. Photograph: Vanity Fair |
From Guardian:
Here's a quick reminder of the four modules within this first year of the inquiry.
Module 1: The relationship between the press and the public and looks at phone-hacking and other potentially illegal behaviourModule 2: The relationships between the press and police and the extent to which that has operated in the public interest
Module 3: The relationship between press and politiciansModule 4: Recommendations for a more effective policy and regulation that supports the integrity and freedom of the press while encouraging the highest ethical standards.
Witness list for this week (16th - 18th January) to be found HERE
Video Recordings of each day's proceedings HERE
Live Feed From Leveson Inquiry Site HERE
BBC Democracy Live Feed HERE
Guardian Live Blog
Telegraph Live Blog
BBC News Leveson Inquiry Page
#Leveson Twitter Feed
Dan Sabbagh (Guardian Journalist) Twitter timeline
Ben Fenton (Journalist FT) live Leveson tweets and comments
Hackinginquiry on Twitter (Hacked Off)
Sky News Live Blog
Telegraph Live Blog
BBC News Leveson Inquiry Page
#Leveson Twitter Feed
Dan Sabbagh (Guardian Journalist) Twitter timeline
Ben Fenton (Journalist FT) live Leveson tweets and comments
Hackinginquiry on Twitter (Hacked Off)
Sky News Live Blog
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- Hislop: 'If the State regulates the Press, then the Press no longer regulates the State.'
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Tuesday 17th January
(link to yesterday's proceedings HERE )
Witnesses:
Appearing in person:
Private Eye
Ian Hislop
The Times
James Harding
Thomas Mockridge
Susan Panuccio
Rupert Pennant-Rea
John Witherow
Witness Statements to be read:
Pia Sarma (Witness Statement in Full )
Darren Singer (Witness Statement in Full )
The Guardian/Observer
Appearing in person:
Chris Elliott
Alan Rusbridger
Witness Statements to be read:
Andrew Miller (Witness Statement in Full )
Phil Boardman (Witness Statement in Full )
Dame Elizabeth Forgan (Witness Statement in Full )
James Robinson (Witness Statement in Full )
Gillian Phillips (Witness Statement in Full )
John Mulholland (Witness Statement in Full )
Ian Hislop
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| Ian Hislop - Private Eye |
Witness Statement in Full
Hislop: overall the best sources are our readers #leveson
Legitimate for Eye to use single source as long as there is no other possibility and we check as much as possible. #leveson
Since 2000, Eye has been sued 40 times for libel. 11 settled, 26 withdrawn, one tied jury and two victories. #leveson
From Guardian Live Blog:
Hislop says that Private Eye's best sources are its readers. Broadly, the sources for its sections come from inside the relevant professions, he says – "a lot of whistleblowers … a lot of people inside who feel they have a story to report".He adds that nearly all of the stories in the "Street of Shame" section – about newspapers – come from journalists, "it being a loyal profession".
Hislop is asked about sourcing.He says that "whistleblowing" stories often have just one source because only one person is "brave enough" to talk to the magazine.
"As editor you trust your journalists," he says. Journalists should be trusted to check out stories and not to run stories that are "pure grudge".
There have been very effective blags, eg C4 doco pretending to be lobbyists,STimes and Fifa. #leveson
Hislop at #leveson : says Benji binman was going through bins for Fayed. Material appeared in Punch
Eye believes @piersmorgan memory is selective, diaries not contemporaneous, remembers the wrong thing. #leveson
Guardian Live Blog:
Hislop says that Private Eye has done a lot of work on the phone-hacking scandal but that it "cannot claim that the story is ours". "That story was broken by the Guardian," he says.Private Eye covered the Met police's Operation Motorman inquiry into newspapers' use of private investigators because Hislop was named as someone that PI Steve Whittamore was paid to search for, he says. He does not say which newspaper targeted him.
Private Eye's Street of Shame section "tends to be full of stories about journalists misbehaving," Hislop says, for example drunkenness and stealing stories from each other.
Hislop: I hope #leveson will call Cameron, Blair and Brown
We have laws, but fact they weren't enforced is down to police and that politicians are v involved with senior NI people. #leveson
Private Eye is not signed up to the PCC ethics code, but still abides by its principles according to Hislop #Leveson
Hislop is asked why Private Eye is not part of the Press Complaints Commission.
He says that ethics are "self-evident", adding: "contempt of court is illegal; phone tapping is illegal; police taking money is illegal … the fact these laws were not rigorously enforce is due the ... interaction of the police and News International."
Private Eye will abide by the spirit of the PCC's code, Hislop says.
He adds: "I hope you'll be calling the PM and Tony Blair and Gordon Brown to explain how that comes down from the top."
Leveson points out that not all of the wrongdoing included criminal offences; some of it was "tortious", ie civil offences.
IH: Anybody who reads newspapers begins to see an agenda. Who decided the headline? The editor or proprietor. #Leveson
Hislop at #leveson : Desmond is the worst example of whether he uses his paper to persuade certain agendas & claims
IH: I don't think the PCC has been effective or independent. If it changes one reconsider (joining). #Leveson
Guardian Live Blog:
Hislop is asked about proprietorial influence.He says newspapers' agenda is pretty clear from reading them, referring to the Daily Mail and other titles: "Mr Desmond is the worst example, obviously … The Murdoch press is pretty clear in a lot of its manifestations of what its agenda is going to be, and the paper follows it."
Look at the coverage of this inquiry … You read it fairly closely and think why have they missed out the bits that were critical of us? Is it because they're in tune with the readers, or the editor is embarassed, or the proprietor doesn't want to read it?
Hislop: Private Eye spends 2 pages a week attacking individuals &newspapers, wldn't expect fair PCC hearing #leveson
Hislop:
'If the State regulates the Press, then the Press no longer regulates the State.'
Shd be kept to account by law & by people who buy the papers.I do hope you are going to call some members of public, Hislop tells #leveson
From Guardian Live Blog:
Hislop at #leveson : there were a lot of police involved in hacking story who didn't do anything
Hislop: I think there are reasons the police... did not investigate, reasons the NI thought it could get away w/ whatever it liked #leveson
Guardian Live Blog:
Dan Sabbagh has just tweeted:
Hislop - blunt, quotable, and entertaining evidence. One of the best witnesses - not surprised he is top trending on Twitter UK.
Hislop: I think there are reasons the police... did not investigate, reasons the NI thought it could get away w/ whatever it liked #leveson
Hislop suggesting that police didn't go after hacking because of the perception that NI was linked to the top of UK society. #leveson
Hacking of Milly's phone/Chris Jefferies contempt stories seem to me self-evidently unreasonable actions by editors Hislop to #leveson
[They are discussing what is in public interest. Hislop's view is editor must make reasonable judgments based on facts.] #leveson
Guardian Live Blog:
Hislop is asked about the public interest.He argues that the definition should not be so narrow that it is impossible to justify issues in a grey area.
A reasonable editor could not have thought 'I must hack into a murdered girl's phone' [and the Christopher Jefferies contempt stories]; those things seem to me self evidently unreasonable.
Hislop is asked about prior notification.He says he was stopped from running a story that was "self-evidently in the public interest" about Law Society president Michael Napier for five months while the application for the injunction went through the courts, at a cost of £350,000 to Private Eye.
Leveson says it is a clear example of a need for a low-cost libel tribunal service.
"The lesson I learnt from that was not to give prior notification," Hislop says.
Hislop: privacy had become more of a problem than libel before the explosion over the previous summer #leveson
Interesting: Private Eye editor Ian Hislop says stories originating on blogs are only 'tested' once they appear in newspapers #leveson
Hislop at #leveson : I haven't been to any slumber parties with any politicians
From Guardian Live Blog:
Hislop tells Leveson about another example of when Private Eye was effectively gagged from publishing a story.
Private Eye received a warning letter from lawyers for a director of an NHS IT system who was accused of squandering £12bn in public money after a journalist for the magazine put a series of questions to him.
Hislop says he got around the legal threat by reading out the letter under privilege before a parliamentary committee.
French equivalent Canard Enchainee has a website that just says: "Go and buy the paper" They are doing very well. #leveson
Hislop on MMR coverage: Eye printed apology "Private Eye got it wrong and should have stopped running it long before it did" #leveson
Guardian Live Blog:
The Mail on Sunday's Ian Hyland has just tweeted:
Ian Hislop's evidence session ends here.
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| James Harding - The Times |
Witness Statement in Full
James Harding the editor of The Times up now at #leveson, see if he gets asked more about the 2009 computer hacking incident...
Harding: moving to 24h newsroom means our journalism is changing rapidly #leveson
Largest change of all is how to take paper printed on paper for 225 yrs and produce it on screen at same standards. #leveson
Harding: would very rarely print story with one source - most likely if source is pivotal to story #leveson
Harding says the letters page is the most important page in the newspaper because it is where readers can give feedback."I do feel as though we are keenly aware of what is being said about the paper, good and bad," he adds, mentioning blogs and Twitter.
Harding is asked about the balance between free speech and privacy.
"There is clearly no absolute right of privacy and no absolute right of freedom of expression," he says. "What you are always doing is considering a sliding scale."
He adds that if the editor is considering breach of privacy, they have to decide on the seriousness of the story.
Harding confirms that the Times was offered the MPs' expenses data.
"We were one of a number of papers approached about that story," he says.
Asked why the Times did not pay for the data, Harding says:
We generally don't pay for stories. On that occasion we took the view that we shouldn't be in the business of paying for stolen goods … There was a fee for looking at a selection of the disks before you acquired them.
There may have been a public interest defence – there was undoubtedly a public interest in the publishign of that story - this is the lesson that I drew: you have to have a set of standards in the newsroom … but you have to be willing to break them if you are presented with a story in the public interest.
Harding says the Times covered the Phone-hacking more thoroughly when the Milly Dowler message deletion news broke.
We covered it on front page day in day out for best part of 3 weeks. Criticised NotW and NI in leader page, as well as Murdochs. #leveson
Harding: Murdochs never raised a finger to stop us doing so #leveson
Harding #Leveson asked about proprietorial pressure - my experience is that Rupert Murdoch has not had any influence
Guardian Live Blog:
Harding is aked if the Times was slow to cover the phone-hacking scandal, possibly because of external pressures.Harding says: "If you look back at the coverage of phone hacking, it's clearly the case that the Guardian broke the story in the summer of 2009 … we followed that story immediately … and in the months that followed we covered it too and occasionally on the front page."
Editor of Times on Rupert Murdoch 'sometimes you won't hear from him in weeks, other times you'll hear from him twice in a week' #leveson
How many times since May 2010 have you met David Cameron? James Harding: about half a dozen, maybe a bit more #Leveson
Harding:If we walk into offices of politicians it's to represent the interests of our readers, not lobby our business interest. #leveson
Guardian Live Blog:
Harding is asked about his meetings with politicians."I try to meet with them pretty regularly," he says. "By which I mean once every few months, once every six months … I'd like to make the point that for journalists, access is very important."
He says he expects his journalists to meet with politicians regularly to pursue journalistic lines of inquiry.
Harding says he has met David Cameron "about half a dozen times, maybe more" since 2010 but does not have a precise figure.
Politicians will seek to use the pages of the press to make their case and secure re-election, Harding says, but the job of journalists is to "sift the reality from it".Harding is asked whether the Times is under pressure to come up scoops to differentiate itself from TV news, and therefore is susceptible to politicians offering exclusives. He says the paper does not "choreograph" its coverage around the 6pm or 10pm TV news.
Harding makes what he describes as a defence of agenda-driven journalism, pointing out that newspapers should be free to pursue their own lines of inquiry and focus of specific issues. He gives as an example the paper's ongoing coverage of adoption issues.
"If you try to constrain journalists, you'll often find you don't get the best people working for you and don't get the best stories," he says. "I don't feel that's the nature of the Times."
Harding #Leveson Lord JL asks him: how do you solve problem of a proprietor (Desmond of course) not taking part in system of regulation?
Guardian Live Blog:
Leveson and Harding are discussing how an independent regulator will ensure that all newspapers are covered.Leveson asks: "How do you solve the problem of a substantial publisher of newspapers saying I'm not prepared to participate in your independent regulator?"
Harding asks Leveson if he is proposing a compulsory system "because that would mean the licensing of newspapers".
Leveson reiterates – "watch my lips" – that he hasn't made his mind up about anything yet.
Harding says the body has to be "sufficiently robust" but he is concerned that politicians will be able to amend the "Leveson act" to clamp down on the press in the future.Leveson replies:
This model we're talking about isn't intended to identify standards, isn't intended to identify who should decide where there's been a breach of standards. It is merely to give some authority to independent regulation.
Harding says, again, that his concern is political power over newspapers."I do not want journalists from the Times, years from now, walking into the offices of politicians and behaving in a certain way [because they feel they have to kowtow to politicians because of statutory regulation]," he tells Leveson.Lunch break.
Leveson asks Harding about the proposal that newspapers' continuing exemption from VAT could be conditional on them signing up to a post-PCC regulator.
Harding says that making that work is an "unenviable" task and that they have received "contradictory" feedback from experts.
"Before the war the Times endorsed appeasement," Harding says. "There was a real concern that a leading newspaper had got to close to government."
Harding gives examples from past to highlight his fear that a "Leveson act" could open the door down the line to politicians interfering with press regulation, possibly by inserting something in relation to standards.
Guardian Live Blog adds:
Harding is likely to be asked about the following paragraph:
The Times has never used or commissioned anyone who used computer hacking to source stories. There was an incident where the newsroom was concerned that a reporter had gained unauthorised access to an email account. When it was brought to my attention, the joumalist faced disciplinary action. The reporter believed he was seeking to gain information in the public interest but we took the view he had fallen short of what was expected of a Times journalist. He was issued with a formal written warning for professional misconduct.This relates to a paragraph in News International director of legal Simon Toms's witness statement; it was also covered in Tom Mockridge's written evidence.
The inquiry has now resumed. Lord Justice Leveson says that during lunch break he's been thinking about Harding's concerns about statutory regulation and political interference in the press.
He refers to the Constitutional Reform Act, which governs the relationship between the parliament and the judiciary. He reads out the relevant clause from act.
Leveson says he would welcome any suggestions on this issue.
Guardian Live Blog:
Harding is asked about his meetings with David Cameron.He says often the Times's political editor will also be in attendance.
Thomas Mockridge
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| Thomas Mockridge - News Corp |
Witness Statement #1 in Full
Witness Statement #2 in Full
Mockridge #Leveson Rupert interested in advertising figures, news issues and progress of Leveson inquiry
Mockridge: in some weeks will speak to Rupert Murdoch several times via the phone. In some weeks might not speak to him at all #leveson
Mockridge: I believe the board members have a general responsibility to contribute to ethics #leveson
From Guardian Live Blog:
Mockridge says that NI board members "have a general responsibility" on the ethics of newspapers.He describes ethics as a "subjective rather than an objective" term.
"If the board shows an interest to set clear and well communicated policies that itself is a message to the employees of the company to the manner they're expected to behave," he says.
Mockridge on search agencies currently used by NI: I'm completely confident that they are (employing lawful methods) #leveson
Mockridge #Leveson policies of News Int apply to all three Wapping titles - Times, Sunday Times and The Sun
Mock: Catastrophic editorial error is not defined as a separate risk in the company's risk management policy. [that's a surprise] #leveson
Mockridge #Leveson surprised if review of press regulation in Australia will change its basis - really? I think its online remit will change
Mockridge says self-regulation works in New Zealand & Australia.#leveson points out there's review going on in at least one of the countries
Guardian Live Blog:
Mockridge says that the culture of News International is slowly changing."It might be overambitious to say the culture entirely has changed in six months, but there has been a change of policy … and individuals are rigorously applying policy,' he says.
News International applies News Corporation's risk management policy, Mockridge says.
Jay has now completed his questions.
Mockridge: only a minute fraction of stories published in last decade are of interest to this inquiry. #leveson disagrees.
Guardian Live Blog:
Mockridge praises the current state of the UK press:
There are many people outside the United Kingdom who look at the British press with jealously – due to the extent of competition and choice and ability of the press in general terms to examine issues and report with a freedom and holding to account that is not available in other markets.Leveson questions the phrase "everything might not be perfect" and that a "minute fraction" of stories are of interest to the inquiry.
Everything might not be perfect, but if we look at the great array of the newspaper stories published in this country in last decade there's only a minute fraction that are of interest to this inquiry.
Mockridge says he is talking about the situation today, and that the British press "enjoys something precious" in its relative freedom.
Susan Panuccio
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| Susan Panuccio |
Chief Finance Officer at News International.
Begins by being asked about the arrangements for cash payments to sources.
Guardian Live Blog:
Panuccio says that the £150,000 payment to a source in the News of the World's Pakistani cricket corruption story was approved by herself and the then chief executive, Rebekah Brooks.She describes the size of that payment as an exception, but adds that there has been "a couple in the £30,000 to £40,000 range" since.
Panuccio says there has been a reduction in cash payments since summer 2011.
"The usage of cash payments has gone down considerably," she tells the inquiry, adding that in the six months to December cash payments reached £50,000 "which was significantly less than they have been in the past".
"Journalists were very nervous in relation to cash payments … there's a lot more awareness about cash payments," she adds.
Rupert Pennant-Rea
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| Rupert Pennant-Rea |
Witness Statement in Full
Rupert Pennant-Rea #Leveson now up. Subject of infamous Sun Mirror headline about Bonk of England
Pennant-Rea #Leveson specific powers of independent directors require approval of appointment of editor - explains practice
Pennant-Rea #Leveson independent directors constantly asking ourselves whether editors have budgets to do job plus freedom to do it
Pennant-Rea #Leveson says Times coverage of phone hacking has been comprehensive, objective and fearless --- since it bothered with itat all
John Witherow
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| John Witherow - Sunday Times |
Witness Statement in Full
I think Jay said Witherow is longest serving editor on Fleet Street. [Not necessarily one title.] #Leveson
Interesting to see if Gordon Brown blagging allegation come up here http://bbc.in/nNPmTO #leveson
Witherow: generally we try to get more than one source on a story. I think that's just good journalistic practice #leveson
From Guardian Live Blog:
Witherow is asked about the Sunday Times ombudsman.The ombudsman is effectively number three on the newspaper, Witherow says, and he takes as "robust, independent" role in mediating complaints and discussions within the newspaper.
Witherow says it is good journalistic practice to obtain more than one source for a story, but adds that once the paper withheld a story that had five sources because they were in a "contentious" area.
Journalists have been given written warnings "fewer than 10 times" since Witherow became editor of the Sunday Times, he says.
Jay: Sunday Times has used blagging in the past, is that right? Witherow: yes #leveson
Jay: but it draws the line at phone hacking and has never used that? Witherow: correct #leveson
Guardian Live Blog:
Witherow is asked about use of subterfuge.He says that the principle for use of subterfuge is whether it is it in the public interest. That will be debated and decided upon in advance.
"Generally, it's fairly clear cut," he tells Leveson, citing examples of criminality and wrongdoing by MPs.
STimes has used only 2 PIs and they are well known to our journalists, Witherow tells #leveson
Guardian Live Blog:
Witherow is asked about private investigators.He says the paper has only used two private investigators who are well known to the journalists in the past, and the information they obtained was already in the public domain.
"The point is our journalists make sure they behave in a proper way," he says
Witherow says that the Sunday Times has looked at the information commissioner's 2006 reports on private trade of information.He says that the journalist named as using a PI in the What Price Privacy Now? report was attempting to trace the phone number of a former Home Office official to ask them to respond to a story.
Been given private info on financial affairs of ministers we cd see no pubic interest in publishing so we havent Witherow tells #leveson
Witherow is asked about his relationship with high-level politicians.He says he will see the prime minister, chancellor and senior cabinet members "from time to time" and that he will go with colleagues.
His purpose in attending is to establish "what is on the minds of the politicians". You rarely get information you would put in the newspaper but it is useful background information, he adds.
Politicians want to maintain contact and persuade newspapers that they are doing the right thing, says Witherow.
Witherow at #leveson : Invited to interview under caution by info cmsnr after Lord Levy tax affairs story
Witherow at #leveson : L Levy unsuccessfully sought injunction on story about his tax affairs , paper used failure as pub interest defence
Jay refers to 1994 untrue story calling Michael Foot a KGB agent. Witherow - I overcooked it and cocked it up
Witherow: "...I think it's fair to say I overcooked it. Foot then sued us, and put another wing on his house with the proceeds." #Leveson
Witherow at #leveson : believed Gordon Brown had bought flat at cheaper price than valuers had put on it
Jay (at #leveson) - Beardall got criminal record for smuggling alcohol , when he was charged S Times dropped him
Witherow at #leveson : admits someone pretending to be G Brown did make calls attempting to blag info for S Times
Witherow admits STimes used someone to blag details of Brown's mortgage for that flat.Not Beardall. #leveson
Witherow says Rupert Murdoch has no influence over what goes in the S. Times #leveson
[Striking how extremely similar the answers of Harding,Witherow,Mockridge have given to how often they hear from Rupert] #leveson
Guardian Live Blog:
Witherow is asked about investigative journalist Mazher Mahmood, who previously worked for the News of the World and now works for the Sunday Times.Witherow is asked why he employed Mahmood.
I think Mr Mahmood is an exceptional journalist. He's proved himself over many years … the stories he's done for us have been excellent.
Now discussing comments by AA Gill about Clare Balding. Witherow says doesn't regard it as pejorative, was freedom of speech #leveson
Witherow: believed AA Gill was exercising free speech by referring to Clare Balding as a 'dyke'. Balding won PCC ruling vs ST #Leveson
Guardian Live Blog:
Witherow is asked about AA Gill's controversial column about Clare Balding, which the presenter complained to the PCC was homophobic. He defends Gill's use of the word "dyke", saying: "She was openly gay … we regarded it as a matter of freedom of speech … we didn't regard it as pejorative."
He says there are websites that use this term: "These are gay websites that use that term in a positive way."
A reporter went to someone's home for a comment & got no answer so they TAPED the doorbell down so it would ring constantly. OMG. #Leveson
Guardian Live Blog:
Witherow is asked about a recent article by John Simpson, the well-known BBC broadcaster.In the article, Simpson talks about six photographers besieging his former wife. They taped down her doorbell to keep it ringing all night.
Witherow says he thinks it is unacceptable. "I've no idea how much of this goes on," he says, adding that it is not Sunday Times policy.
Witherow at #leveson : admits hiring former actor to work as a blagger by Insight, used on Fifa investigation
Witherow - if we used private investigators in future, Sun Times would need "a formal agreement" with them.
Witherow - "we have learned a lot from this inquiry already". We have a paper trail to audit use of subterfuge.
Witherow says Gilligan furore came about b/c govt "thought it had some sort of stake in the BBC". Stat reg cld lead to stg similar for press
Guardian Live Blog:
Witherow agrees with Harding that there should be a public interest defence for hacking and bribery cases.
Witherow suggests there should be a financial penalty for not being involved in a new system of regulation.Leveson repeats his point that most of Witherow's suggestions require a basis in law for a judge to be tougher on parties that opt out of a new regulatory body.
Witherow's answer to what is the future is also the same as Harding.How to make money in digital future. #leveson
Guardian Live Blog:
Guardian Live Blog:
Witherow is asked about his vision for the Sunday Times.
Newspapers are caught up in an absolute revolution. We've never had a challenge like this in 300 years … The challenge is how do you continue to publish in print and digitally and continue to publish good journalism? It is one of the biggest challenges facing publishing since we first started.
Chris Elliott
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| Chris Elliott |
Witness Statement in Full
Elliott clarifies he is appointed by Scott Trust, can be dismissed only by vote of the Trust #leveson
Elliott at #leveson : decides whether and when an apology should be published
Guardian Live Blog:
#leveson i've heard Gn criticised for ReadersEd corrections. carping at a freely given correction is dismally graceless.
Guardian Live Blog:
Elliott says that occasionally there will be differences of opinion on whether an issue warrants a correction or clarification. He will consult the editor and the journalis, but the ultimate decision rests with the readers' editor.
Elliott says he was interviewed for the readers' editor job by a panel of three trustees from the Scott Trust, which funds the Guardian.
Elliott at #leveson : journalists sometimes self refer having made error
Elliott at #leveson : mostly people (rather than lawyers) are content with corrections appearing in crrctns column, not more prominently
Guardian Live Blog:
The readers' editor's Open Door column at the foot of the letters page allows Elliott to expand on how mistakes were made and how they were resolved.
Elliott says that mostly lawyers will ask for the correction or clarification to have the same prominence as the original article."Mostly, people are content" with the corrections and clarifications column on the Guardian's letters page, he says.
He adds that if an industry standard emerges from the Leveson inquiry the Guardian would be interested in taking part.
The internet has increased a pressure to resolve complaints quickly online, Elliott says, adding that most are resolved within 72 hours.That resolution takes longer if the complainant goes through the PCC, he adds.
Elliott at #leveson : get a nuclear science story wrong and 10 nuclear scientists are in touch within the hour to point it out
Guardian Live Blog:
Elliott says the Guardian no longer has a "high to low" relationship with readers, but is more closely engaged with them, which builds up trust.
Elliott says he would still like to "get to things faster" but is prohibited by the volume of complaints.
Elliott puts the case for more papers to adopt a readers' editor office, saying it reduces legal costs through quick responses #leveson
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| Alan Rusbridger - Guardian |
Witness Statement in Full
Rusbridger describes the Guardian's agenda as liberal, with a small "l" #Leveson
Rusbridger: when you're appointed the only thing the Scott Trust tells you is to carry on the paper as heretofore #leveson
Gdn reporters wd have to get #Rusbridger permission to hire a PI. #leveson
Rusbridger: each newspaper decides where it is on privacy dial. We set it high #leveson
Guardian Live Blog:
Guardian Live Blog:
#Rusbridger says if adjudication can be recognised in law as being part of law of libel, that wd encourage people to join. #leveson
Guardian Live Blog:
Rusbridger says that the Guardian will cover high-profile stories that involves someone's private life if the story has reached worldwide exposure, giving the example of Tiger Woods.
Rusbridger is asked about privacy and the public interest."It's for every editor to set the dial on where the privacy settings should be - we set ours pretty high," he says.
Reporters are given general guidelines because editors can't be there 16 hours a day. "Most journalists know generally where we stand and that informs what we think," he says.
Editors shd be allowed to meet PMs and ministers.Not sure the meetings shd be logged. #leveson
The Guardian's Lisa O'Carroll has just tweeted:
#leveson simon kelner has just arrived to observe
Rusbridger says that approval from the head of department is needed for the use of subterfuge."Generally, you should do most of your journalism by saying who you are and by being open and transparent about it," he tells the inquiry.
He says an example in the past two years of subterfuge justified in the public interest includes a Guardian reporter who went undercover in the English Defence League.
Rusbridger at #leveson : has met all the heads of the Metropolitan Police bar the present one
Rusbridger says editors should be allowed to meet PMs and ministers. #leveson
Rusbridger at #leveson : sometimes invited to lunch with judges of Old Bailey or High Court
Guardian Live Blog:
Rusbridger says he has met with all the heads of the Met police, except the present one, over lunch.
They will explain difficulties and issues on their patch.
Two senior Met officers came to see him "to talk me out of a story" on the phone-hacking scandal, Rusbridger says. He says former Met police commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson was later gracious enough to say he was glad Rusbridger ignored their advice.
Rusbridger calls PCC's investigation into phone hacking worse than a whitewash #leveson
Guardian Live Blog:
Rusbridger is asked about his resignation from the PCC editors' code committee; his letter said "I am out of sympathy with the PCC".He stresses that his issue was not with the code committee, which he says performed a "valuable function".
"When the PCC's report into phone hacking came out I thought it was crudely a whitewash – in fact it was worse than a whitewash because it was factually wrong about matters that were in the public," he says.
The report "so undermined the principle of self-regulation" that he could no longer stand by it.
"Even when they were lied to by the most powerful media player … there was nothing they could even do about that. Its inadequecies were fatally exposed by that," Rusbridger adds.
Rusbridger says he "wouldn't be against the use of statute" if a regulator could enforce its powers to deal with early-stage libel complaints.
Financial Times media correspondent Ben Fenton has just tweeted:Rusbridger is asked about the way forward for press regulation.Rusbridger backs the idea of sending an ombudsman into newspaper newsrooms to investigate claims of wrongdoing, citing the Independent Television Commission.
Guardian Live Blog:
Rusbridger says he "wouldn't be against the use of statute" if a regulator could enforce its powers to deal with early-stage libel complaints.He adds that the industry ought to welcome a law change by statute to underpin a new adjudication system, because that would make it easier and cheaper to settle privacy and libel complaints.
Rusbridger suggests that the new regulator could be given "absolute privilege" to regulate refuseniks who decline to be part of the new body.
The public interest is at the heart of everything we believe in, Rusbridger tells the inquiry."The PCC code is good, or adequate," he adds. "The more outsiders, and academics, are drawn into this [the inquiry] the more we become aware of ways it could be improved."
He says many tabloid newspapers do not attempt to justify their stories in the public interest when attempting to overturn privacy injunctions, usually brought by celebrities.
[#leveson has had the main police submission, but apparently there is one outstanding before he makes it all public] (Re Milly Dowler phone message deletion complaint by News Int)
Guardian Live Blog:
Guardian Live Blog:
Guardian Live Blog:
Rusbridger says his main priority going forward is to take opportunities presented by a "ferocious digital revolution". "To what extent that is in print or in digital is a secondary matter," he adds.
Leveson says that the inquiry has "travelled a fair distance" since Rusbridger appeared at its seminar in October last year.
Rusbridger says: "There isn't a journalist in Britain who hasn't found some of the evidence heard in the last few months sobering."
He says a "harsh and uncomfortable light" has been thrown by the inquiry onto bad practice and it has opened up newspapers to "the transparency we expect of others".
Debate's become more nuanced.I've moved in my thinking.We've been underregulated and overlegislated.Better balance is a good thing.#leveson
[Was that a hint that #Rusbridger wants News Intl to give its evidence on what happened with Milly deletions? #leveson ]
Guardian Live Blog:
Leveson says the inquiry will have to come back to the issue of the Milly Dowler voicemail deletions.Rusbridger says "the fact it's taken so long to resolve indicates it's not a simple question".
He adds that the parties should be able to interrogate each other and adds: "I'm not sure we've had all the evidence or all the answers."
