Musician Tulisa, mother of the late presenter Caroline Flack, Christine, and Hillsborough campaigners Margaret Aspinall and Sue Roberts joined a group of other victims of misconduct to demand action on press abuse from the new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham.

While most industries in the UK are regulated, including broadcast media, newspapers and online publishers remain outside any meaningful form of accountability.  This is despite the Leveson Inquiry recommending that all publishers should be compelled to join an independent regulator over ten years ago.  The Labour Party in opposition were strong supporters of action on press standards.

Letter follows below.

Dear Prime Minister,

You promised a circuit breaker to rebalance power across the UK. But will you stand up to the most powerful industry of all?

As Shadow Home Secretary you called for action on the Leveson Inquiry as “non negotiable”. You were clear that this wasn’t abstract policy for you but tied directly to your long campaign for the 97 unlawfully killed at Hillsborough.

But nothing changed. Corruption. Devastating intrusions into grief. Life-destroying lies. Intolerable harassment. Misinformation.

These are the crimes of Britain’s largest newspapers – crimes committed with impunity, because there is no independent body to hold them to account.

The press still reaches over 70% of the public every month, and are among the most popular sources of news both online and on social media, and the consequences for the victims of press abuses are more devastating than ever before.

As many of us have discovered, the press' pet complaints body "IPSO" is a sham regulator, without adequate powers or independence.  It serves the newspaper owners, not the public.

Meanwhile, public trust in the press is at rock bottom, with the UK having the least trusted press in Europe. Every other major industry in the UK is subject to some form of independent regulation, including broadcast media, yet newspapers have been left to continue marking their own homework.

For too long, politicians have been frightened of standing up to the press. This is an opportunity to do much better. But it will take political courage.

In 80 years there have been eight reviews into press standards in the UK, yet successive prime ministers have failed to introduce their recurring recommendation: that newspapers must be independently regulated.

The solution is simple: independent regulation, of the kind recommended by Leveson.  Not state regulation, but not press-controlled regulation either.  A system independent of both politicians and press barons, which puts the public first.

You promised to rebalance power across the country.

Now, on an issue which pits ordinary members of the public against powerful multi-billionaire publishers, you have a chance to prove it.

Tulisa Contostavlos

Margaret Aspinall & Sue Roberts

Christine Flack

Mandy Garner

Jacqui Hames

ENDS