Arbitration Service
The Board should provide an arbitral process in relation to civil legal claims against subscribers, drawing on independent legal experts of high reputation and ability on a cost-only basis to the subscribing member. The process should be fair, quick and inexpensive, inquisitorial and free for complainants to use (save for a power to make an adverse order for the costs of the arbitrator if proceedings are frivolous or vexatious). The arbitrator must have the power to hold hearings where necessary but, equally, to dispense with them where it is not necessary. The process must have a system to allow frivolous or vexatious claims to be struck out at an early stage.
- IPSO introduced a compulsory arbitration scheme for 16 major newspapers, capped at £100 for claimants. The scheme is administered independently (IPSO Arbitration, accessed March 2026).
- The arbitration scheme operates outside the Royal Charter framework, as IPSO has not sought recognition. The scheme's scope and operation have not been independently assessed against Leveson's criteria.
- IMPRESS also offers an arbitration scheme that the PRP has assessed as meeting the Royal Charter requirements (PRP Cyclical Review, 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.
IPSO introduced a low-cost arbitration scheme (capped at £100 for claimants) which is compulsory for 16 major newspapers. However this operates outside the Royal Charter framework and was not available for the first several years of IPSO's existence. IMPRESS offers an arbitration scheme meeting the Royal Charter criteria but covers no major national newspapers.
View detailed findings
Arbitration exists at both IPSO and IMPRESS but the fragmented landscape means most of the public lacks access to free arbitration against their local or national newspaper through a recognised regulator.