As part of our role to report on the successes and failures of the Recognition System, we commissioned independent research into the experiences of ordinary members of the public who have been victims of press intrusion.
Nearly 12 years after the publication of the landmark Leveson Inquiry report into the culture, practices and ethics of the newspaper industry in the UK, many ordinary people are still suffering at the hands of the press. They are being denied justice while the reforms intended to strengthen press self-regulation have been rolled back. Previous governments have glossed over these historical injustices, and as this new report shows, ordinary people are still at risk from a powerful industry that can operate largely unaccountably.
Press Intrusion and Regulation Report – August 2024
The report includes compelling evidence of the harm that can be caused by press intrusion and the difficulties that victims still face in obtaining redress. It highlights the damage done in the pursuit of headlines at the expense of ordinary people, who generally cannot afford expensive legal teams to seek redress or compensation. This intrusion often impacts marginalised groups who face further exclusion from obtaining justice.
Case studies included in the report include:
- Parents learning of the death of a child from journalists on the doorstep;
- A mother seeing the tragic last moments of her daughter’s life posted as a shocking video “exclusive” on a news publisher’s website;
- A 14-year-old boy being doorstepped and informed about the death of his 19-year-old brother before their parents had been told whether he was still alive;
- An ‘undercover’ journalist secretly filming in the home of a small business owner, including filming a primary school-aged child in his underwear, failing to find any evidence but running the story anyway and causing significant mental health and financial consequences;
- A mother followed around London by journalists trying to find out where her TV presenter daughter, who later took her own life after years of ongoing harassment by the press, was living;
- False or misleading allegations that destroy people’s lives and job prospects.
These individuals and others quoted in the report all highlight the continuing failure of the current regulatory system, largely based around the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). IPSO was established to replace the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) in response to the criticisms of the PCC in the Leveson Inquiry. IPSO was advertised as a ‘tough new regulator’ but replicates many of the structural issues that undermined the independence and effectiveness of the PCC and does not meet the recommendations of the Leveson Inquiry.
While there is an effective press self-regulator which meets the criteria for independence and impartiality, called Impress, the majority of news publishers, including all major national titles, have failed to engage with the Leveson Inquiry’s recommendations, instead joining IPSO or running their own in-house standards and complaints processes.
The cases presented in this report highlight that victims of press intrusion are often unaware of the availability of self-regulatory organisations and forms of redress other than costly legal action.
There is also evidence to suggest that the processes of dealing with complaints outside of the Recognition System are open to bureaucratic and administrative loopholes to evade swift and effective redress and disproportionately favour press organisations over the public.
As a result, many victims do not pursue their complaints against the press at all. Others can only make claims through the courts or consider legal options once a civil society organisation intervenes to support them.
Action is urgently required to make the system of independent press self-regulation envisaged by the Leveson Inquiry work as intended before another scandal emerges. Victims of press harm and intrusion deserve justice.
