Leveson Report: Analysis

The most radical proposal in the Leveson report is it’s response to the so-called ‘Desmond Problem’ – namely that media owners such as Richard Desmond can decide simply to leave a voluntary system of self-regulation. It is Leveson’s proposal to solve this problem with legislation that has sent newspaper owners and the PCC into a tailspin, even though Leveson himself was absolutely clear that he was proposing independent regulation rather than a ‘statutory regulator of the press’.