View all newsletters
Sign up for our free email newsletters

Fighting for quality news media in the digital age.

  1. Publishers
  2. National Newspapers
December 3, 2014updated 09 Dec 2014 4:22pm

Leveson refused to include ‘controversial’ Times child abuse story in good practice section of report

By William Turvill

Journalist of the year Andrew Norfolk told last night how he believes Lord Justice Leveson disregarded his child abuse investigation in his report because it was “not without controversy”.

The Times reporter criticised Leveson for not including his story in the report’s “good practice” section, in which newspapers were told to submit their best five stories in the public interest.

But only four of The Times’s stories were included, with Norfolk’s investigation – which saw him claim the top honour at last night’s British Journalism Awards – omitted.

In his acceptance speech, Norfolk also criticised the police for the treatment of journalists and praised Press Gazette for the Save Our Sources campaign and coverage of police forces’ use of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act to find journalistic sources.

Norfolk described Leveson’s “good practice” section in his report as “his fleeting concession to the remote possibility that perhaps just sometimes not everything we do is grubby and sleazy and wrong”.

He told the audience at Stationers’ Hall in central London: “Sir Brian invited each national newspaper to submit its five most important public interest stories of recent years for his consideration.

“The good practice chapter of that report duly featured most of those stories – but not quite all of them.

Content from our partners
MHP Group's 30 To Watch awards for young journalists open for entries
How PA Media is helping newspapers make the digital transition
Publishing on the open web is broken, how generative AI could help fix it

“The judge explained that he decided to omit one or two because , and again I quote his words, they were ‘not without controversy’.”

He said that if Leveson was present at the awards he would “really have liked to have the chance to try to explain to him that sometimes it’s uncomfortable truth, the ones that are not without controversy, that are the very stories most important for a journalist to tell. Even if it causes discomfort to a High Court judge.”

Norfolk added: “What happened with that report was The Times as requested submitted five stories. And Lord Leveson accepted four of them. All but one. And, you know, I really am quite proud to be able to stand here this evening and say: guess which one he chose to discard?”

The Times reporter also bemoaned the state of police-press relations in his speech.

He said: “Senior officers you once had a relationship with based on what you thought was mutual trust and respect suddenly too scared to speak to you, or perhaps it’s not that, they’ve just got so much on, the poor dears: planning your arrest, wading through your phone records, I think it’s 1,700 phones from my company alone. Cheers for that, Vodafone, by the way.”

On Press Gazette, Norfolk added: “It’s done really important work on behalf of every journalist in this country with its RIPA campaign. It’s really made a difference and I think all of us in this room are thankful for that.”

Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog

Select and enter your email address Weekly insight into the big strategic issues affecting the future of the news industry. Essential reading for media leaders every Thursday. Your morning brew of news about the world of news from Press Gazette and elsewhere in the media. Sent at around 10am UK time. Our weekly does of strategic insight about the future of news media aimed at US readers. A fortnightly update from the front-line of news and advertising. Aimed at marketers and those involved in the advertising industry.
  • Business owner/co-owner
  • CEO
  • COO
  • CFO
  • CTO
  • Chairperson
  • Non-Exec Director
  • Other C-Suite
  • Managing Director
  • President/Partner
  • Senior Executive/SVP or Corporate VP or equivalent
  • Director or equivalent
  • Group or Senior Manager
  • Head of Department/Function
  • Manager
  • Non-manager
  • Retired
  • Other
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
Thank you

Thanks for subscribing.

Websites in our network