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L72

Exemplary Damages for Media Torts

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: Accepted (Mar 2013)

DeliveryDepartment for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (2017 to 2023) says partially delivered (Mar 2018)Ministry of Justice says in progress (Apr 2013)

Recommendation, verbatim from the inquiry

●Inquiry recommendation

Exemplary damages (whether so described or renamed as punitive damages) should be available for actions for breach of privacy, breach of confidence and similar media torts, as well as for libel and slander. The application to a defendant of any relevant system of regulation of standards enforcement which is contained in or recognised by statute and good internal governance in relation to the sourcing of stories should be relevant to the decisions reached in relation to such damages.

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 asked the UK Government to make exemplary damages available for media torts. In March 2018, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport stated that exemplary damages provisions in sections 34 to 38 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013 commenced in November 2015, exempting publishers in a recognised regulator from exemplary damages in relevant media-related court cases, though internal governance was not mentioned (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Mar 2018). Prime Minister David Cameron had confirmed in March 2013 that the Government accepted the recommendation and would establish exemplary damages through legislation (David Cameron response, Mar 2013).

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 · Accepted · 18 Mar 2013

Words of: David Cameron, Prime Minister, speech opening the House of Commons emergency debate on the Royal Charter on Press Conduct, 18 March 2013 (HC Deb vol 560 cols 632-634)

Two important but relatively small legislative changes need to be made. Let me explain what they are. First, Lord Justice Leveson said—the Government agreed at the time—that, in order to create an incentive for newspapers to take part in the system, we should establish a system of exemplary costs and damages that would not apply to newspapers that take part. We have accepted that recommendation and will be legislating for it—it can be done only via legislation.

Response document: Royal Charter on Press Conduct (House of Commons emergency debate)

Site note: The Prime Minister's speech opening the House of Commons emergency debate on the Royal Charter on Press Conduct, 18 March 2013, as recorded in the Official Report (HC Deb vol 560, cols 632 to 634). The GOV.UK copy of the speech is the script written before it was delivered; its wording differs, and one of its passages is not in the Official Report at all, so the site quotes the record. He speaks for the Government; the site files his words under the Prime Minister's Office.

Delivery

●Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (2017 to 2023) says partially delivered · 1 Mar 2018

Exemplary damages provisions were included in sections 34-38 of the Crime and Courts Acts 2013, and were commenced on 3 November 2015. These provisions mean that publishers who are members of a recognised regulator will be exempt from paying exemplary damages (awarded as a punitive measure when a defendant’s actions are deemed to be wilfully malicious, violent, oppressive, fraudulent, wanton or grossly reckless) in relevant media-related court cases.

From: Government Response to the Consultation on the Leveson Inquiry and its Implementation: Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013 and Part 2 of the Leveson Inquiry

Site note: The passage describes the exemplary damages provisions of the Crime and Courts Act 2013 and does not name the recommendation.

●Ministry of Justice says in progress · 25 Apr 2013

Provisions in the Crime and Courts Bill, which is currently before Parliament, give effect to the recommendations made by Lord Justice Leveson relating to aggravated and exemplary damages (Recommendations 71 and 72) and the awards of costs (Recommendation 73). These provisions will introduce strong and effective incentives for relevant publishers to join a recognised independent self-regulator.

From: Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press Inquiry (Commons written answer), Jeremy Wright, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice

Site note: The source gives this passage once, for recommendations 71, 72 and 73 together. The same words are recorded on L71, L72 and L73.

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.