L69 Response Accepted in Part AI-assessed

Review of Damages for Media Torts

Recommendation

There should be a review of damages generally available for breach of data protection, privacy, breach of confidence or any other media-related torts, to ensure proportionate compensation including for non-pecuniary loss (all referable to the duration, extent and gravity of the contravention).

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
According to gov.uk (29 November 2012), a formal review of damages for media torts, as recommended, was not conducted by the government. According to the Government (27 February 2025), however, court awards for privacy and data protection breaches have increased significantly through case law since the Leveson Inquiry, with notable examples including the Gulati v MGN case in 2015, which established substantial damages for phone hacking, and Prince Harry's reported settlement with News UK in January 2025.
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

Court awards for privacy and data protection breaches have increased through case law since Leveson (notably Gulati v MGN 2015). However, the formal review of damages that Leveson recommended was not conducted. No specific government response was given to this 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.

Reasonable Progress
27 Feb 2025
Government Other

Court awards for privacy and data protection breaches have increased significantly since Leveson. The Gulati v MGN case (2015) established that substantial damages are available for phone hacking. Prince Harry's settlement with News UK (January 2025) reportedly exceeded £10m. However there has been no formal review of damages as Leveson recommended.

View detailed findings

Damages have increased through case law but no formal review was conducted as specifically recommended.

Court damages in privacy cases 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 Civil Law Damages Privacy Compensation
Recommendation age 13.3 yrs
Last formal update 4863 days ago