Recommendation L64: ICO Engage with Metropolitan Police
From An Inquiry into the Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press, published 29 November 2012.
Recommendation
The Information Commissioner's Office should take immediate steps to engage with the Metropolitan Police on the preparation of a long-term strategy in relation to alleged media crime with a view to ensuring that the Office is well placed to fulfil any necessary role in this respect in the future, and in particular in the aftermath of Operations Weeting, Tuleta and Elveden.
In brief (written by this site)
The Inquiry asked the Information Commissioner's Office to agree a media crime strategy with police. In January 2013, it accepted the recommendation, explaining that it had begun engaging with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) to establish formal policies, though it did not mention Operations Weeting, Tuleta or Elveden (Information Commissioner's Office response, Jan 2013). It stated that it would meet with the MPS in January 2013 to set out protocols and amend guidance (Information Commissioner's Office response, Jan 2013).
Sources
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 1 Oct 2026. The record below is the sources' own words.
Government response
The ICO fully accepts this recommendation. Section 10 of the ACPO Manual of Guidance (MoG) sets out the policy and procedure for investigations in relation to cases not involving the police. However, it does not make any specific reference to cases affecting the media. We have already started the process of engaging with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and the Association of Chief Police Officers and will meet with the MPS in January to set out formal policies and protocols for such cases, amending the MoG accordingly.
Blanket government agreement does not establish acceptance or delivery by each addressee. Some response passages cover groups of recommendations.
Scope of the government response
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.
Delivery
No statement on delivery from Information Commissioner has been found in the sources searched (last checked 24 February 2026). This is separate from the response above.
Source
Responsible bodies
Themes and tags
Who has spoken
- Information Commissioner
Response