Leveson Inquiry - Second Stage Axed

At the beginning of March 2018 the Culture Secretary, Matt Hancock, announced that the (Conservative) government :

• would not implement the second stage of the Leveson Inquiry, which was due to examine relations between journalists and the police, claiming that the press had 'cleaned up its act'
• would not put section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act (which would force media organisations to pay legal costs of libel cases whether they won or lost) into effect and would seek to repeal at the earliest opportunity.

The Conservatives opposed Leveson part two in their general election manifesto but peers voted to revive it through an amendment to the Data Protection Bill. Newspapers had lobbied hard to avoid for this outcome.

Leveson part two was scheduled to consider the extent of improper conduct and governance failings by individual newspaper groups, how these were investigated by police and whether police officers received corrupt payments or inducements.

Source: BBC News, Leveson Inquiry: second stage axed by Matt Hancock, 1 March 2018