Appointment Panel Composition
The appointment panel: (a) should be appointed in an independent, fair and open way; (b) should contain a substantial majority of members who are demonstrably independent of the press; (c) should include at least one person with a current understanding and experience of the press; (d) should include no more than one current editor of a publication that could be a member of the body.
- IPSO states that its appointment panel includes a majority of independent members and at least one person with press experience (IPSO, About Us, accessed March 2026).
- IMPRESS states that its appointment panel composition fully meets the Royal Charter criteria, including independent majority and press experience requirements (IMPRESS, Our Regulatory Scheme, accessed March 2026).
- IPSO's appointment arrangements have not been assessed by the Press Recognition Panel, as IPSO has not sought Royal Charter recognition (PRP Annual Report 2024-25, September 2025).
How was this evidence gathered?
Response
Accepted in Part
Response
Accepted in PartThe Prime Minister stated on 29 November 2012 that he accepted "the principles that Lord Justice Leveson has laid out" for independent self-regulation, including "an independent board, a standards code, an arbitration service and the power to demand up-front, prominent apologies and impose million-pound fines." However, he rejected statutory underpinning, expressing "serious concerns and misgivings" about crossing "the Rubicon of writing elements of press regulation into the law of the land." The Royal Charter on Self-Regulation of the Press was granted on 30 October 2013, establishing the Press Recognition Panel as the recognition body. IPSO was established in September 2014 but has not sought Royal Charter recognition. IMPRESS was recognised by the PRP in October 2016. Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/david-cameron-statement-in-response-to-the-leveson-inquiry-report
Published Evidence
Published assessments of progress from inspectorates, select committees, official progress reports, and other sources. Source type badge indicates whether each assessment is independent or government self-reported.
Both IPSO and IMPRESS have appointment panels with independent majorities. IMPRESS fully meets the Royal Charter criteria on panel composition. IPSO's panel composition has been questioned by Hacked Off as insufficiently independent of the press industry.
View detailed findings
Panel composition exists at both regulators. IMPRESS meets Royal Charter criteria; IPSO's independence from the industry has been questioned.