Financial Sanctions Power
The Board should have the power to impose appropriate and proportionate sanctions, (including financial sanctions up to 1% of turnover with a maximum of £1m), on any subscriber found to be responsible for serious or systemic breaches of the standards code or governance requirements of the body. The sanctions that should be available should include power to require publication of corrections, if the breaches relate to accuracy, or apologies if the breaches relate to other provisions of the code.
- IPSO's regulations state that it has the power to impose fines of up to £1 million on subscribers found to be responsible for serious or systemic breaches.
- IPSO has imposed zero fines in over ten years of operation (September 2014 to March 2026). Not a single financial sanction has been levied against any subscribing publication (IPSO Annual Reports 2015-2024, accessed March 2026).
- The absence of any fines is directly linked to the absence of any standards investigations, as fines can only follow an investigation finding (IPSO Annual Reports, accessed March 2026).
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.
IPSO has the theoretical power to impose fines up to £1m. However IPSO has imposed zero fines in over 10 years of operation (2014-2024). Not a single financial sanction has been levied against any publisher despite numerous breaches.
View detailed findings
The power to fine exists on paper but has never been exercised. Zero fines in over a decade constitutes a failure to implement this recommendation in any meaningful sense.