1. It is not statutory regulation, or anything like it. It creates a small independent audit body which, once every few years, checks on any press self-regulator that volunteers for inspection to see that it meets specified standards of independence and effectiveness (and is not another sham like the Press Complaints Commission).2. It is free from political interference. No politician may be involved in a self-regulator or in the new audit body, and government ministers are barred from meddling in any way. A special lock has been placed on it so that it would take a two-third majority of both Houses of Parliament to make any change to the Charter – an exceptionally high threshold under our constitution. And if Parliament did try to go beyond the Leveson recommendations, it would be bound to fail. The system would cease to operate, since self-regulators would no longer volunteer for inspection.3. It gives ordinary members of the public the chance of fair treatment if they have been wronged by news publishers. They get an impartial complaints service for the first time, and they also have access to cheap arbitration if they feel their legal rights have been breached.4. It protects and promotes investigative journalism in new ways. For example, rich individuals and institutions will no longer be able to block publication of articles about them by threatening long and expensive legal cases.5. It safeguards free speech. The charter states that no press self-regulator should have the power to prevent publication ‘of any material, by anyone, at any time’. Regulators can only act after publication.6. It ensures that serious problems in the press are addressed, and solved. So for the first time, if one newspaper repeatedly breaks the law or the code of practice, that paper will face investigation and, where appropriate, heavy fines.7. It will ensure that when newspapers get things wrong, corrections and apologies are no longer buried in a corner of a little-read page but are given appropriate prominence.8. It gives newspaper publishers a golden opportunity to regain public trust by showing that they are not afraid to be held to high standards. After recent scandals, trust in newspaper journalism is extremely low.9. The new system is not compulsory for newspapers, but is designed so that there are powerful advantages to membership in terms of reduced risk of paying high court costs, while there are corresponding disadvantages to remaining outside.10. The charter allows the news publishers to design their own self-regulatory system in ways that suit their own needs. It merely says that the system has to meet basic standards.