An inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the press : presented to Parliament pursuant to Section 26 of the Inquiries Act 2005, ordered by the House of Commons to be printed on 29 Novembe

The Leveson Inquiry was set up to examine the culture, practices and ethics of the press.

This four volume report is divided into 12 parts, which cover the following areas: Part A: The Inquiry; Part B: The Press and the Public Interest; Part C: The Press; Part D: Standards; Part E: Crossing Legal Boundaries: the Criminal and Civil Law; Part F: The Culture, Practices and Ethics of the Press: the Press and the Public; Part G: The Press and the Police: the Relationship; Part H: The Press and Data Protection; Part I: The Press and Politicians; Part J: Aspects of Regulation; the Law and the Press Complaints Commission; Part K: Regulatory Models for the Future; Part L: Summary of Recommendations. The report sets out 92 recommendations, including: that an independent self-regulatory regime should be established governed by an Independent Board; that the Board should adopt a standards code advised by a Code Committee and that the code should take into account the importance of freedom of speech, the interests of the public, especially in relation to other people and appropriate respect for privacy and accuracy; that the Board should publish an annual report identifying the body's subscribers, the number of complaints and a summary of any investigations carried out; also the body should require newspapers to publish compliance reports in their own pages and display transparency in relation to their sources used in stories.

The body should also establish a whistle-blowing hotline.

Lord Justice Leveson considers that an independent and effective system of self-regulation is needed.

There are recommendations regarding regulation by Law, criminal and civil.

There should be a review of damages generally available for breach of data protection, privacy, breach of confidence, ensuring proportionate compensation. The term "off-record briefing" should be discontinued and the term "non-reportable briefing" should be used to cover background briefing.

The Police Service should re-examine the rigour of the auditing process and the frequency of the conduct of audits in relation to access of the Police National Computer.

Party leaders, ministers and opposition spokesmen should consider publishing any long term relationships with media proprietors, newspaper editors and provide details of all meetings with media proprietors etc. on a quarterly basis.