L55 Response Not Accepted Self-assessed

ICO Prosecution Powers Extension

Recommendation

The prosecution powers of the Information Commissioner should be extended to include any offence which also constitutes a breach of the data protection principles.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
According to the Prime Minister's November 2012 statement (https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/david-cameron-statement-in-response-to-the-leveson-inquiry-report), the UK Government did not accept this recommendation, as he was "instinctively concerned" about proposals that could curb press freedom. According to Government / ICO records from February 2025, the Information Commissioner's Office's (ICO) prosecution powers were not extended to cover all breaches of data protection principles as specifically recommended, with the ICO's enforcement powers under the Data Protection Act 2018 remaining primarily administrative.
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
Not Accepted
Not Accepted UK Government
29 Nov 2012

The Prime Minister stated on 29 November 2012: "I am instinctively concerned about this proposal. There is a real danger of this recommendation being used to curb freedom of the press. We need to consider this very carefully - particularly the impact this could have on investigative journalism." The Data Protection Act 2018 retained a broad journalism exemption (Schedule 2, Part 5) and did not implement this specific recommendation. 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.

Not Implemented
27 Feb 2025
Government / ICO Other

The ICO's prosecution powers were not extended to cover all breaches of data protection principles as Leveson recommended. The ICO has enforcement powers under the DPA 2018 but these are primarily administrative (fines, enforcement notices) rather than the criminal prosecution powers Leveson envisioned.

View detailed findings

Not implemented as specifically recommended. The ICO has administrative enforcement powers but not the expanded criminal prosecution powers Leveson proposed.

Data Protection Act 2018 enforcement provisions 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
Personal data privacy risks Discriminatory media reporting oversight ICO Data Protection Prosecution Enforcement
Recommendation age 13.3 yrs
Last formal update 4863 days ago