Inquiry into the Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press (The Leveson Inquiry):...

LEV 2

2011-2013

The series consists of documents made available to and created by the Inquiry into the Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press (The Leveson Inquiry). This includes court transcripts, witness statements, evidence relating to oral hearings and rulings made by the Inquiry chairman.

Publically available versions of these records were published on the Inquiry website, and can be accessed through the UK Government Web Archive.

Public Record(s)

English

9675 digital record(s)

Subject to closure for periods up to 100 years

Inquiry into the Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press (The Leveson Inquiry)

2011 to 2012

This series is not accruing.

The National Archives Records Collection Policy, sections: 3.1.2 The structures and decision-making processes in government: - records of commissions, tribunals and inquiries investigating decision-making by ministers and officials or making recommendations for changes in public policy. 3.1.3 The state's interaction with the lives of its citizens - records relating to individuals or national and international events of significant contemporary interest or controversy.

The Prime Minister announced a two-part inquiry investigating the role of the press and police in the phone-hacking scandal, on 13 July 2011. Lord Justice Leveson was appointed as Chairman of the Inquiry.

Part one of the Inquiry examined the culture, practices and ethics of the press and, in particular, the relationship of the press with the public, police and politicians. The Inquiry was approached in four Modules. These were:

Module 1: The relationship between the press and the public and looks at phone-hacking and other potentially illegal behaviour. Module 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 politicians. Module 4: Recommendations for a more effective policy and regulation that supports the integrity and freedom of the press while encouraging the highest ethical standards.

Requests for written evidence in relation to Module 1 were sent out in August 2011 and Lord Justice Leveson also invited comments, evidence and submissions from any other interested parties. As part of this process, Lord Justice Leveson held a series of seminars in September and October to set the context for the Inquiry.

Formal evidence hearings for Module 1 started on 14 November at the Royal Courts of Justice. The other Modules followed a similar pattern, with the evidence hearings for Module 3 finishing on 26 June 2012. Module 4 hearings ran from 9 July 2012 until final closing submissions on 24 July 2012.