The Leveson Inquiry heard from two ITN employees this afternoon.

Jim Gray, Channel 4 news editor, said an independent inquiry had been carried out by ITN into illicit newsgathering techniques, but had found no evidence of phone hacking or blagging.

He later said Channel 4 News had no record or indication of inappropriate payments to police officers, and no payments to public officials or mobile phone companies. He said he was aware of only two occasions when Channel 4 News used private investigators in order to trace subjects.

He said any individuals accused of “serious allegation[s] of wrongdoing or criminality” would be contacted in writing before broadcast, and that “proportionate” means of evidence gathering would be used within the public interest.

He called internal regulation “onerous” and “rigorous” but added: “I struggle to think of a story that I really wanted to put on the air that I didn't because of [Channel 4] guidelines”.

Gray said Channel 4 receives a handful of complaints a year, and broadcast regulator Ofcom helped to emphasise principles in a helpful way.

He said approval for undercover filming would come after a series of tests and would need "prima facie" evidence of wrongdoing to proceed.

Gray called the internet “the single biggest shift in all our lives” and confirmed that blogs written by Channel 4 journalists were checked before publication.

David Barr, junior counsel to the inquiry, asked Gray about regulation. He said he was “anxious” about a “heavy” form of statutory regulation, and was cautious over “curbs” placed on public officials or police officers being able to talk to the press.

John Battle, head of compliance at ITN, said the difference between broadcast and print journalists was not great. The lawyer, who has previously worked for Associated News, publishers of the Daily Mail, said reporters from both sides of the media try to report the truth and to work in an ethical way.

Battle described his role as “advice plus compliance” and said his role in television had more “bite” than in the newspaper industry.

He added: “I would say [I] guide and advise, it’s not for me in the end to make a decision [on editorial content]”.

Battle told the inquiry that in his 10 years in the role “we have not fought a libel case all the way through the courts and lost”.

He said the channel liked to stop problems before broadcast and received little defamation and privacy legislation.

He added: “We don’t want to fight for the sake of it”.

Battle was reluctant to reveal the exact number of legal settlements dealt with by Channel 4 News but said they received approximately 10 Ofcom complaints a year. He said the ITN compliance manual “set a higher standard” than the industry regulator code, Ofcom.

He told the inquiry he had not come across hacking or the paying of public officials when working for newspapers.

When asked about regulation, Battle said it was a “difficult and dark time for the press” but he strongly believed in “freedom of expression being protected”. He said “other options” should be explored and tested before the press moved to statutory regulation.

He added: “I wouldn’t recommend that broadcast and press be regulated together".