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L47

Journalist Contract Protection

Leveson Inquiry · An Inquiry into the Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press · Issued 29 November 2012 · Addressed to: Press

Government responsePrime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street: Accepted in part (Nov 2012)

DeliveryNo statement from Press found

Recommendation, verbatim from the inquiry

●Inquiry recommendation

The industry generally and a regulatory body in particular should consider requiring its members to include in the employment or service contracts with journalists a clause to the effect that no disciplinary action would be taken against a journalist as a result of a refusal to act in a manner which is contrary to the code of practice.

Leveson Inquiry, An Inquiry into the Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press · 29 Nov 2012 Source PDF →

Published evidence summary

AI-generated evidence summary

The Inquiry recommended contractual protections for journalists refusing to breach codes of practice. The Royal Charter on Self-Regulation of the Press, granted by the Privy Council in October 2013, addressed this for press regulators applying for recognition (Royal Charter on Self-Regulation of the Press, Oct 2013). It provided that the board of the Recognition Panel may, but need not, take recommendation 47 into account when determining an application (Royal Charter on Self-Regulation of the Press, Oct 2013). It also specified that the panel must not refuse recognition because of a failure to comply with this recommendation, provided the regulator meets the recognition criteria (Royal Charter on Self-Regulation of the Press, Oct 2013).

AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 2 Oct 2026.

About this summary
This recommendation applies across many organisations. The record above reflects central policy activity; adoption in individual organisations may vary.

Report-level response context

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.

Government response

●Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street · Accepted in part · 29 Nov 2012

Words of: David Cameron, Prime Minister, statement to the House of Commons on the Leveson Inquiry report, 29 November 2012 (HC Deb vol 554 cols 446-448)

In volume IV of the report, Lord Justice Leveson sets out proposals for independent self-regulation organised by the media. He details the key “requirements” that an independent self-regulatory body should meet, including independence of appointments and funding, a standards code, an arbitration service, and a speedy complaint-handling mechanism. Crucially, it must have the power to demand up-front, prominent apologies and impose up to million-pound fines. These are the Leveson principles. They are the central recommendations of the report. If they can be put in place, we truly will have a regulatory system that delivers public confidence, justice for the victims, and a step change in the way the press is regulated in our country. I accept these principles, and I hope that the whole House will come in behind them. The onus should now be on the press to implement them—and implement them radically.

Response document: Leveson Inquiry (House of Commons statement)

Site note: The Prime Minister's statement to the House of Commons on 29 November 2012, the day the report was published, and his answers to members' questions on it (Official Report, HC Deb vol 554, from col 446). He speaks for the Government; the site files his words under the Prime Minister's Office.

Site note: The Prime Minister gives this passage once, for the report's proposals for independent self-regulation of the press as a whole ("the Leveson principles", col 448). The same words are recorded on recommendations 1 to 24 and 34 to 47.

Delivery

No statement on delivery from Press has been found in the sources searched. This is separate from the response above.

What other bodies have found

In their own words. These do not change the delivery statement above.

●UK Government · 30 Oct 2013

4. The Board of the Recognition Panel, in determining an application by a Regulator for recognition, may but need not, take into account any of recommendations 34 to 36 (inclusive), 38, 43, 44 to 45 (inclusive) and 47 in the Summary of Recommendations of the Leveson Report. Where the Recognition Panel is satisfied that a Regulator meets the recognition criteria it shall not refuse to grant recognition to that Regulator by reason of a failure to comply with any of these specified recommendations.

From: Royal Charter on Self-Regulation of the Press

Site note: The passage is the text of the Royal Charter on Self-Regulation of the Press, granted on 30 October 2013. The Charter sets up the Recognition Panel and the criteria a press regulator must meet to be recognised. It does not report what any regulator or publisher has done.

Site note: The source gives this passage once, for recommendations 34 to 36, 38, 43, 44, 45 and 47 together. The same words are recorded on L34, L35, L36, L38, L43, L45 and L47. The paragraph lets the Recognition Panel take these recommendations into account but does not require a regulator to meet them.

How this page is built

The recommendation and the government responses are verbatim from primary documents. Delivery statements and other bodies' findings are shown in their own words, each with its source. The summary is written by this site and labelled as such. The Index does not paraphrase sources or characterise intent; it records what has been published.