The Hacked Off campaign welcomes the Prime Minister’s statement this morning, promising two inquiries following the News of the World phone hacking revelations, in addition to the ongoing criminal investigation by the police.But we are concerned about the relationship between the inquiries, the speed with which a full inquiry will be conducted, and the potential gaps between the three investigations. There is still a risk that fundamental questions about the affair – as to whose phones were hacked, who authorized it, how long it went on, which newspapers did it, and the relationship between the press, the police and politicians – may never be answered.The Prime Minister committed to starting an inquiry into media standards ‘straightaway’. Led by a panel of respected figures, it will focus on the ‘culture, practices, and ethics’ of press. The campaign agrees with the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition when they say the Press Complaints Commission has failed, and that we need to rethink entirely the system of self-regulation from the ground up.The Prime Minister also committed to a second, judge-led inquiry into the ‘illegal and utterly unacceptable practices taking place at the News of the World – and possibly elsewhere’, with witnesses giving evidence under oath.The Hacked Off campaign welcomes these commitments but will:
The Hacked Off campaign is committed to ensuring that the inquiries have full powers to establish:
Martin Moore, Director of the Media Standards Trust which is coordinating the Hacked Off campaign, said: ‘The PM’s commitments are a great step forward but still leave plenty of wiggle room, particularly on the extent of the full inquiry. Hacked Off will continue to focus on getting the right inquiries, on the right terms, in the right time frame.’
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