The Commission completed the investigation of 2,601 complaints in 1998 - more than sixty per cent of them about accuracy in reporting. Fifteen per cent of complaints were about intrusion into privacy, and were by far the most high profile of the complaints dealt with by the Commission. Excluding cases where no breach of the editors' Code of Practice was established, nearly nine in ten complaints were resolved. We did so with considerable efficiency: almost three quarters of all complaints were dealt with in under two months - a record proportion.

Because of our success in conciliating disputes, the Commission had to adjudicate on only 86 complaints. All those which were critical of a newspaper or magazine were published in full and with due prominence by the publication concerned.

We administer a Code of Practice drawn up by editors themselves. The Code covers the way in which news is gathered and reported - as well as giving special protection to particularly vulnerable groups of people over and above that afforded to them by law. The Code is kept under constant review by the editors' Code Committee.

The PCC continues to deal with a significant number of inquiries from members of the public about our service and about the Code. In 1998 we dealt with well over four and a half thousand telephone inquiries - again a record number.

Self regulation continues to display a significant number of strengths over any form of legal redress. Unlike the law, the PCC costs nothing to use - which makes it accessible to everybody.