Press Recognition Panel established

The Press Recognition Panel, an independent body set up by the Royal Charter granted on 30 October 2013, was established today. The body, chaired by Dr David Wolfe QC, was set up in response to the Leveson Report into the culture practices and ethics of the press. The Panel has responsibility for assessing whether self-regulatory bodies set up by the press which apply for recognition comply with the criteria set out in Schedule 4 the Royal Charter. Recognition (for bodies in England and Wales) would make that body an Approved Regulator for the purposes of sections 34-41 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013. These sections introduce potential penalties for publishers not signed up to an Approved Regulator, in the form of exemplary damages or costs awards where they face a claim in defamation, privacy or harassment.

On Friday the appointment of five Press Recongition Panel Board Members was announced. They are:

• Harry Cayton – the Chief Executive of the Professional Standards Authority;
• Emma Gilpin-Jacobs – who has worked in strategic communications for over 17 years, including for Time, the Financial Times and the Deputy Prime Minister;
• Carolyn Regan  – who was Chief Executive at the then Legal Services Commission having been Chief Executive of major NHS bodies;
• Harry Rich –  is the Chief Executive of the Royal Institute of British Architects and a Governor of the University for the Creative Arts;
• Tim Suter – has worked for the BBC and was head of Broadcasting Policy at the Department of Culture Media and Sport before becoming the Founding Partner of Ofcom.

Further details of the Press Recognition Panel, and more detailed biographies of its Chair and Board Members are available on the Press Recognition Panel website here.