L32 Response Accepted in Part AI-assessed

Multiple Regulatory Bodies

Recommendation

It should be possible for the recognition body to recognise more than one regulatory body, should more than one seek recognition and meet the criteria, although this is not an outcome to be advocated and, should it be necessary for that step to be taken, would represent a failure on the part of the industry.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
According to the Press Recognition Panel (2025-02-27), the Royal Charter on Self-Regulation of the Press allows for the recognition of more than one regulatory body, should multiple organisations seek and meet the established criteria. According to the Press Recognition Panel (2025-02-27), currently, only IMPRESS is a recognised regulator, as IPSO has not sought recognition.
How was this assessed?
Assessed by gemini-2.5-flash on 19 Mar 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
External sources searched: www.gov.uk, www.legislation.gov.uk, hansard.parliament.uk
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 implementation progress from inspectorates, select committees, official progress reports, and other sources. Check the source type badge to see whether each assessment is independent or government self-reported.

Confirmed Completed
27 Feb 2025
Press Recognition Panel Other

The Royal Charter allows for recognition of more than one regulatory body. Currently only IMPRESS is recognised. IPSO has not sought recognition.

View detailed findings

The framework allows multiple recognised bodies as recommended. In practice only one exists.

Royal Charter recognition framework View Source
Source
Report An Inquiry into the Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press 29 Nov 2012
Responsible Bodies
UK Government Primary
Recommendation age 13.3 yrs
Last formal update 4863 days ago