The UK’s best-selling daily and Sunday newspapers have agreed to sign up to a compulsory arbitration scheme that could force them to pay out up to £60,000 to press victims.
The Independent Press Standards Organisation’s new scheme will cost claimants a maximum of £100, offering an alternative to costly legal action over libel, privacy, harassment, and data protection claims.
The following titles, all regulated by IPSO, have agreed to sign up:
- Daily Telegraph
- Sunday Telegraph
- Weekly Telegraph (international)
- Daily Mail
- Mail on Sunday
- Metro
- Times
- Sunday Times
- The Sun
- Times Literary Supplement
- Daily Express
- Sunday Express
- Daily Star
- Daily Mirror
- Sunday Mirror
- Sunday People
Between them the publications have a print circulation of about 9.5m (estimated using ABC figures).
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The new scheme brings IPSO closer in line with recommendations made by Lord Justice Leveson following his inquiry in the culture, practice and ethics of the press, which concluded in 2012.
IPSO has run a voluntary arbitration scheme for its members since 2016, allowing publishers to essentially cherry pick the cases they agree to arbitrate. To date, no cases have been brought.
IPSO members not signed up to the compulsory arbitration scheme can continue to use the voluntary one. The new scheme will launch by 31 July.
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IPSO chief executive, Matt Tee, said “The compulsory arbitration scheme will cover the biggest national newspaper titles in the UK.
“Anyone who has a valid claim against them can make it through the IPSO scheme for a maximum cost of £100, and the newspaper has no choice but to arbitrate.”
Major UK newspapers not regulated by IPSO include the Guardian, Observer, Financial Times, Independent and Evening Standard – all of which self-regulate.
Picture: Reuters/Luke MacGregor
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