Party Policy on Press Relations
Leveson Inquiry · An Inquiry into the Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press · Issued 29 November 2012 · Addressed to: Politicians
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
As a first step, political leaders should reflect constructively on the merits of publishing on behalf of their party a statement setting out, for the public, an explanation of the approach they propose to take as a matter of party policy in conducting relationships with the press.
Leveson Inquiry, An Inquiry into the Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press · 29 Nov 2012 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- No published evidence that the Labour Party, Conservative Party, or other parties have published formal party-level policy statements setting out their approach to conducting relationships with the press, as specifically recommended, has been identified to March 2026.
- Ministerial transparency covers government ministers but not backbench MPs, opposition frontbenchers, or party officials outside government.
Response — verbatim from government
●UK Government
The Prime Minister stated on 29 November 2012: "On the Government's behalf I can say that we accept that recommendation" regarding disclosure of interaction between politicians and the press. Ministerial transparency data on meetings with media proprietors, editors, and senior executives has been published quarterly since 2010. Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/david-cameron-statement-in-response-to-the-leveson-inquiry-report
UK Government · 29 Nov 2012 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 27 Feb 2025 · Political parties No political party has published a formal policy statement on their approach to press relations as Leveson recommended. The issue was politically toxic and all parties avoided it. View source → Not Implemented
Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.
How this page is built
Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.