Monday 17 October 2011

Leveson Inquiry panel get paid £565 per day



The six-strong panel of assessors for the Leveson Inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the press are getting paid £565 a day, according to their letters of appointment, which are published on the Leveson Inquiry website.

The current inquiry assessors are: Sir David Bell, former chairman of the FT and until recently chairman of the Media Standards Trust; Shami Chakrabarti of Liberty; Lord Currie, former chairman of Ofcom; Elinor Goodman, former political editor for Channel 4 News; George Jones, former political editor of the Daily Telegraph; and Sir Paul Scott-Lee, former chief constable of West Midlands Police.

The inquiry has been criticised for not including on the panel anyone with experience of red top tabloids, mid-market newspapers or the regional press. Associated Newspapers, in an application supported by Trinity Mirror, the Newspaper Publishers' Association and Guardian News and Media, said the inquiry would "benefit greatly" if the judge appointed additional advisers to "fill the gap" in expertise.

But, the Guardian reports that Leveson has rejected the call for more panel members and said the tabloid press and regional media would have "every opportunity" to provide his inquiry with evidence, along with "those involved in newsgathering, politicians, victims and many other interested parties and individuals".

Hat Tip: Paul McNally on Twitter

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