L27 Response Accepted in Part

Legislative Recognition Requirements

Recommendation

In order to meet the public concern that the organisation by the press of its regulation is by a body which is independent of the press, independent of Parliament and independent of the Government, that fulfils the legitimate requirements of such a body and can provide, by way of benefit to its subscribers, recognition of involvement in the maintenance of high standards of journalism, the law must identify those legitimate requirements and provide a mechanism to recognise and certify that a new body meets them.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
- The government established a Royal Charter on Self-Regulation of the Press, granted by Privy Council on 30 October 2013. The Charter was an alternative to the statutory underpinning Leveson recommended (Royal Charter on Self-Regulation of the Press, October 2013).
- The Crime and Courts Act 2013 provided the legislative framework alongside the Royal Charter (Crime and Courts Act 2013, legislation.gov.uk).
- The Press Recognition Panel was established under the Royal Charter in November 2014 as the independent recognition body, fulfilling the requirement for a body independent of the press, Parliament, and government (PRP, accessed March 2026).
- The PRP is operational and has conducted cyclical reviews of recognised regulators (PRP Cyclical Reviews, accessed March 2026).
Sources
PRP
How was this evidence gathered?
Evidence searched by Claude (Anthropic) on 10 Apr 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
Jurisdiction
UK-wide
Response
Accepted in Part
Accepted in Part UK Government
29 Nov 2012

The government established a Royal Charter on Self-Regulation of the Press (granted 30 October 2013) and passed the Crime and Courts Act 2013 as its legislative response. This was an alternative to the statutory framework Leveson recommended. The Press Recognition Panel was created under the Royal Charter as the recognition body. The Prime Minister stated on 29 November 2012 that he accepted the principles but had "serious concerns and misgivings" about statutory underpinning. Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/david-cameron-statement-in-response-to-the-leveson-inquiry-report

Read Full Response
Note: PM David Cameron responded to all 92 recommendations with a single statement accepting them "in principle" or "in part". No per-recommendation response was published.
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.

Confirmed Completed
31 Oct 2013
UK Parliament legislation

The Royal Charter on Self-Regulation of the Press was granted on 31 October 2013. It identifies the requirements for an independent regulator and provides a mechanism for recognition through the Press Recognition Panel.

View detailed findings

Royal Charter established as the legislative recognition framework, as recommended.

Crime and Courts Act 2013 and Royal Charter View Source
Source
Inquiry Leveson Inquiry
Report An Inquiry into the Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press 29 Nov 2012
View Source
Responsible Bodies
UK Government Primary
Themes & Tags
Weak Government Accountability & Scrutiny Press Regulation Recognition Legislation Independence
Recommendation age 13.5 yrs
Last formal update 4931 days ago