PCC announces closure to review practices ahead of Leveson report

The Press Complaints Commission has confirmed that it will close in its present form in order to review its structure and processes, which have come in for criticism at the ongoing Leveson Inquiry.

At a board meeting last night it was unanimously agreed that the organisation would move into a "transitional phase."

While it was agreed that the PCC would continue "ongoing dialogue" with Lord Justice Leveson and his team, it has been widely reported that the new body will present its proposals before the Inquiry reports.

The new Chairman of the PCC Lord Hunt last month told the Inquiry that there would be a "new regulator" with additional powers to the PCC, including powers of investigation.

Full Fact is pleased that the PCC has been proactive in taking on board criticism — not least our own — while apparently retaining its most valuable asset: the staff that work extremely hard to secure corrections.

We look forward to working with the transitional body and its successor, and of course will encourage it to place accuracy at its heart.

While over four fifths of its complaints were over issues of accuracy, the PCC lacked the powers to be effective in this area. Too often the correction process was abused by the papers, and we often saw corrections appear months after the original error was made, or in a manner whereby the paper avoided taking responsability for setting the record straight.

As we saw during the AV referendum campaign, the system was too slow to correct inaccuracies before voters went to the polls, meaning that during elections, when accurate information is needed most, it was hardest to ensure that citizens got it.

The PCC's suggestions for remedying these problems and others are eagerly anticipated at Full Fact HQ.