L84 Response Accepted AI-assessed

Immediate Transparency Need

Recommendation

The suggestions that I have made in the direction of greater transparency about meetings and contacts should be considered not just as a future project but as an immediate need, not least in relation to interactions relevant to any consideration of this Report.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
According to Official government response (2012-11-29) and Independent evidence (2025-02-27), partial transparency on media contacts has been implemented through Cabinet Office quarterly returns, which have been published since 2010. According to Independent evidence (2025-02-27), however, the immediate and comprehensive disclosure called for by Leveson was not fully achieved, and the coverage of interactions remains incomplete.
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
This recommendation asks for cultural or behavioural change, which is difficult to verify objectively. The assessment is based on policy commitments, not measured outcomes.
Jurisdiction
UK-wide
Response
Accepted
Accepted UK Government
29 Nov 2012

The Prime Minister stated on 29 November 2012: "On the Government's behalf I can say that we accept that recommendation" regarding disclosure of interaction between politicians and the press. Ministerial transparency data on meetings with media proprietors, editors, and senior executives has been published quarterly since 2010. 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 / Political parties Other

Some transparency on media contacts has been implemented through the Cabinet Office quarterly returns. However the coverage remains incomplete and the immediate implementation Leveson called for was not achieved.

View detailed findings

Partial transparency achieved but not the immediate and comprehensive disclosure recommended.

Cabinet Office transparency data 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
Politicians Primary
Themes & Tags
Weak Government Accountability & Scrutiny Politicians Transparency Lobbying Disclosure
Recommendation age 13.3 yrs
Last formal update 4863 days ago