British Phone-Hacking Inquiry, Afternoon Session

Alastair Campbell, former Communications Director under Prime Minister Tony Blair, testified before the Leveson Inquiry, a British commission set up to “examine the culture, practices and ethics of the media” in the United Kingdom. His statement had been leaked to the media before his appearance. Mr. Campbell stated that he believed British newspapers had begun to focus on sensationalistic, slanted stories at the expense of fact-checking and people’s privacy.

Prime Minister David Cameron appointed Lord Justice Leveson on July 13, 2011, to investigate the role of the press and police in the phone-hacking scandal surrounding the defunct British newspaper News of the World. The hearings were divided into four modules, or phases: 1) the relationship between the press and the public, and phone-hacking and other potentially illegal acts 2) relationships between the press and police 3) the relationship between press and politicians 4) recommendations for improved policy and regulation. close