Hacked Off are committed to exposing the failures of the press industry’s toothless regulator.
Corporate national newspapers refused to implement Leveson’s recommendations. Instead they revamped their discredited self-regulator, the Press Complaints Commission, giving it a new name: the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO).
IPSO is a sham – it isn’t raising press standards, it is giving editors a continuing license to do what they want.
Hacked Off are campaigning for Part 2 of the Leveson Inquiry into police and press corruption to take place.
Part 1 only looked into press regulation, not the specifics of any wrongdoing, the conspiracies or cover-ups. Part 2 could not begin until the criminal and civil trials had been completed, which they now have.
We need Leveson Part 2 if we are to get to bottom of the alleged collusion between police, press, and politicians. Evidence of police corruption and newspapers’ cover-up of widespread illegality cannot be allowed to be swept under the carpet.
Hacked Off are campaigning for the commencement of a key access to justice measure – Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act.
Suing a newspaper for libel or invasion of privacy is expensive. Equally, most small publishers cannot afford to defend themselves against claims by rich individuals or companies.
Section 40 is designed to level the playing field, to provide access to justice for the public whilst protecting investigative journalists from the costly legal threats of rich litigants.
The big newspapers are fighting tooth and nail to stop Section 40 happening. They don’t want those they have wronged to have quick and cheap access to justice.
Hacked Off works closely with victims of press abuse and intrusion, offering them assistance and advice when they find themselves at the centre of unwanted media attention.
We understand that ill-health, trauma, tragedy and bereavement can often be magnified by press intrusion and harassment.
By Luke Geikie Hacked Off and MEND (Muslim Engagement and Development) co-sponsored a fringe event at the Labour Party Conference to discuss the need for independent press regulation and the importance of remedying Islamophobia which incites hatred in the press. The event saw an extremely high turnout of conference delegates, who came to…
By Professor Brian Cathcart The story caused a sensation but quickly fell under a cloud of doubt. Now the release of the final court judgment in the case leaves the newspaper’s reputation in shreds and surely puts senior journalists’ jobs on the line It has taken more than six months, but the final judgment in…
By Brian Cathcart. The response of editors to the judgment shows them out of touch with the public and digging an ever-deeper hole of contempt for their journalism One of the marvels of the modern national press is its limited self-awareness. Here’s a small example: among all the pieties uttered about press freedom after…
The Cairncross Review was established by the Government in March 2018, to “examine the sustainability of high quality journalism.” It is aimed specifically at the newspaper industry. The Review’s chair is Dame Frances Cairncross, who is assisted by an advisory panel of press representatives. Hacked Off’s response called on the Review to recommend that:…
12/09/2018 A new Hacked Off report is published today to mark the fourth anniversary of the sham press regulator “IPSO”. It details a number of recent cases of press abuse, demonstrating that nothing has changed since IPSO was set up. The report includes quotes from recent victims of press abuse, some of whom have…
02/08/2018 On August 1st 2018 IPSO announced a new “compulsory” element to its arbitration scheme. This is the third version of the scheme which still fails to meet the Leveson Report’s requirements on arbitration and has not been used by a single claimant. Commenting, Hacked Off Director Dr Evan Harris said, “IPSO claims this…
