Recognition Panel

The Press Recognition Panel was created on 3 November 2014 as a legal body by the Royal Charter (itself granted on 30 October 2013) on self-regulation of the press. The Press Recognition Panel's function is to carry out activities relating to the recognition of press regulators.^[1]

The Leveson Inquiry into the culture, practice and ethics of the press reported on the 29 November 2012.

The Government committed to implementing the Inquiry’s recommendations including one of Leveson’s key recommendations: that the press industry should regulate itself but that there should be some independent verification (or ‘recognition’) of the regulatory arrangements the press put in place.

By operation of Article 2.2 of the Royal Charter, the Press Recognition Panel was duly established on 3 November 2014 as a fully independent body with the purpose of carrying on activities relating to the recognition of independent regulators of relevant publishers.

Once the Board of the Press Recognition Panel has established it as an organisation, it will, among other things, consider whether self-regulatory bodies set up by the press which want to be ‘approved regulators’ comply with the criteria set out in Schedule 4 of the Royal Charter, as drawn up in the light of the Leveson Report. In England and Wales, recognition will make them 'approved regulators' for the purposes of sections 34-41 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013.

The Recognition Panel and its Board are entirely independent of the Government, Parliament, the press or any other such interest as required by the Royal Charter. The members of the Board of the Press Recognition Panel were appointed be by an Appointment Committee, itself appointed (as required by the Royal Charter) by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. The appointments process was entirely independent of the Government, Parliament, the press or any other such interest.

Board of the Press Recognition Panel

Dr David Wolfe (Chair of the Press Recognition Panel) works as a barrister (QC) helping people and organisations who want to challenge the legality of decisions taken by public bodies and, very often, the Government itself. He was a founding Board member of the Legal Services Board, which oversees the operation of the self-regulators of lawyers and other legal professionals, and also a member of the Board of the then Legal Services Commission.

Harry Cayton is the Chief Executive of the Professional Standards Authority, the body which oversees the self-regulators of health and social care professionals across the UK. Harry was previously Director of the National Deaf Children’s Society and then Chief Executive of the Alzheimer’s Society. For five years Harry was the NHS National Director for Patients and the Public at the Department of Health. He is a Trustee of Comic Relief.

Emma Gilpin-Jacobs has worked in strategic communications for over 17 years, much of it advising media companies. From 2000-2006, she was International Director of Public Affairs for Time Inc. Emma then worked at the Financial Times Group for six years and, from December 2013 to February 2014, as Director of Communications for the Deputy Prime Minister. At the FT, she was Global Communications Director and one of the Executive Board that successfully managed the FT’s transition to digital. Emma began her career in journalism.

Carolyn Regan was Chief Executive at the then Legal Services Commission having been Chief Executive of major NHS bodies including the North East London Strategic Health Authority, where she took the lead for the NHS in promoting London’s successful bid for the 2012 Olympics. Most recently, she was responsible for establishing and leading the newly formed NHS West London Clinical Group. Carolyn is Chair of the Board of Trustees of Just for Kids Law, a Council Member at City University, London chairing its Remuneration Committee, and a Trustee of Action Space ltd., a visual arts organisation for people with disabilities. She is a member of the appeal board for Depression Alliance.

Harry Rich is the Chief Executive of the Royal Institute of British Architects and a Governor of the University for the Creative Arts. He was previously Chief Executive of Enterprise UK and Deputy Chief Executive of the Design Council. Harry served as a Board member of the Advertising Standards Authority which regulates UK advertising. Harry was a Magistrate and, for two years, an external member of the Charter Compliance Panel of the then Press Complaints Commission.

Tim Suter worked on Newsnight before becoming Deputy Head, Managing and Executive Editor for BBC Television and Radio Current Affairs. He was head of Broadcasting Policy at the Department of Culture Media and Sport before becoming the Founding Partner of Ofcom with responsibility for its regulation of broadcast and other content. Tim gave evidence to the Leveson Inquiry on possible structures for UK press regulation. He is a Visiting Fellow at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University and a freelance consultant who has advised a wide range of national and international media organisations including the BBC, ITV, Channel 5, The Newspaper Society and (on issues of media ownership) News Corporation.

References

1. ↑ Para 3.1 of Royal Charter