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.
The Sunday Times has been widely condemned for running a column by Rod Liddle over the weekend in which he suggests extremists should blow themselves up in London’s Tower Hamlets, away “from where the rest of us live.” The piece has been widely criticised for inciting violence; with politicians from the borough labelling Liddle as…
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…
Victims of press abuse vow to pursue all avenues to secure completion of the Leveson Inquiry following outcome of Judicial Review, which found in favour of the Government: “The Government may have met its narrow legal obligations in how it cancelled the inquiry, but it cannot hide behind today’s ruling to justify its decision…
“It’s the comforting lie that sells better than the objective truth”: James O’Brien challenges press inaccuracy at Hacked Off’s 6th Annual Leveson Lecture James O’Brien delivered the 6th Annual Leveson Lecture on Monday at the University of Westminster to a crowd of over 380 people. Drawing parallels between the newspaper editors of his father’s time and…
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:…
