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L54

Bring into Force Section 55 Penalties

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

Government responsePrime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street: Noted (Nov 2012)

DeliveryDepartment for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (2017 to 2023) says not accepted (May 2018)Ministry of Justice states no delivery position (Jan 2013)

Recommendation, verbatim from the inquiry

●Inquiry recommendation

The necessary steps should be taken to bring into force the amendments made to section 55 of the Data Protection Act 1998 by section 77 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 (increase of sentence maxima) to the extent of the maximum specified period; and by section 78 of the 2008 Act (enhanced defence for public interest journalism).

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 commencing increased penalties and journalistic defences for unlawfully obtaining data. In May 2018, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the Home Office stated that the provisions were omitted and never commenced, explaining that offences, defences, and penalties were instead set out in the Data Protection Act 2018 (Data Protection Act 2018: Explanatory Notes, May 2018). Earlier, in January 2013, Helen Grant, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice, stated that the Government was considering whether to introduce them given potential consequences for investigative journalism (Helen Grant, Jan 2013). In November 2012, Prime Minister David Cameron stated that the Government needed to look at the issue very carefully (David Cameron response, Nov 2012; David Cameron, Nov 2012).

AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 1 Oct 2026.

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 · Noted · 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)

I think we need to look at this very carefully. Lord Justice Leveson is incredibly tough about what he sees as the failures to act on the Information Commissioner’s report. We need to look very carefully at that, as well as at my hon. Friend’s point.

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's answer (col 463) to a question from Dr Julian Huppert asking him to commence sections 77 and 78 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, which is what this recommendation asks for. The question is the member's words, so it is not in the row. The answer states no position, so the site records the response as noted.

Delivery

●Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (2017 to 2023) says not accepted · 23 May 2018

884 Paragraph 150 omits sections 77 to 78 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008. These sections introduced an order-making power to increase the maximum penalty for the offence of unlawfully obtaining data under section 55 of the 1998 Act and defences for journalistic activity. The provisions were never commenced. They are no longer needed because the offence of unlawfully obtaining data, defences and penalties are now set out in sections 170 and 196 of this Act.

From: Data Protection Act 2018: Explanatory Notes

●Ministry of Justice states no delivery position · 8 Jan 2013

Following the report of the Joint Committee and the inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the press, the Government is giving careful consideration to the question of whether these provisions should now be introduced given the potential consequences in particular for the conduct of responsible investigative journalism in the public interest.

From: Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 (Commons written answer)

Site note: The answer does not name the recommendation. It answers a question about bringing sections 77 and 78 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 into force, which is what this recommendation asks for.

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.