Report of the Chairman of the Code Committee
By Les Hinton, Code Committee Chairman

That the PCC has, in my view, been so successful in recent years in dealing openly, fairly and transparently with complaints from ordinary members of the public - and the industry equally so in raising standards of journalism - is down to the strength and simplicity of a tough Code of Practice written by editors themselves.

The importance of the Code - and editors' commitment to it - has now also been thrown into sharp focus by a string of important, and in most cases welcome, legal judgements. The cases of Anna Ford, of the footballer Gary Flitcroft, of TV personality Jamie Theakston and, of course, Naomi Campbell all underline the important role of the Code not just in the day-to-day decisions editors make about what to publish in their own newspapers, but also in the decisions judges may take in any legal actions brought about them.

In addition, it is on the back of a tough Code of Practice and demonstrable commitment by editors, and their publishers, to it that the newspaper industry has been able to win vitally important exemptions in recent years from legislation that would have otherwise seriously compromised both self regulation and press freedom.

That was most clearly demonstrated in 2001 by the implementation of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, which is dealt with in more detail on page 9 of this Review.

Against this background - along with the buoyant level of complaints received by the PCC - it is crucial for us to keep the Code under review, up-to-date and vibrant. That is the job of the editors' Code Committee, which continues to be in the front line of self regulation.

The Committee met a number of times during 2001. There were no changes to the Code during the year, although the Committee did have an important role in shaping the guidance on financial journalism issued by the PCC (see page 9). In addition, the Committee considered representations from organisations and members of the public - including those on such important matters as race and discrimination in reporting. Each of these representations was carefully considered - and while none of them led to changes in the Code, they were extremely useful in ensuring that the Committee was aware of public concerns and considered best how to tackle them.

There have been a number of changes to the membership of the Committee since my last Report. Ian Dowell, Max Hastings, Maggie Kuomi, Russell Reid and David Rowell have all left - and I would like to take the opportunity of this report to thank them for the unstinting effort and great collective wisdom they brought to our work over the years. In their places, we have been delighted to welcome to the Committee Perry Austin-Clarke, Paul Horrocks, Tom Loxley, Ian Murray, Derek Tucker and Chris Williams.

Finally, it is absolutely right in this report to note the role that John Wakeham played in our work over seven tough and difficult years. As an ex officio member of the Code Committee, he was diligent with help and advice, and consistently wise about the application of the Code by the PCC and public perceptions of it. This was truer than ever at the time of the substantial changes to the Code which took place in 1998 after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales - at a time when the industry and the PCC were under probably unparalleled scrutiny. That the Code - and the system - emerged tougher from that, of long term benefit above all to members of the public, is a substantial tribute to him. The Committee will much miss him, and I warmly endorse the tribute on page 18 of this Review paid to him by Professor Pinker, with whom we look forward to working constructively during his time as Acting Chairman.

Commitee members

Les Hinton (Chairman) News International

Perry Austin-Clarke Bradford Telegraph and Argus

James Bishop Illustrated London News

Paul Horrocks Manchester Evening News

Sue James Woman and Home

Tom Loxley Maxim

Doug Melloy Rotherham and South Yorkshire Advertiser

Charles Moore The Daily Telegraph

Ian Murray Southern Daily Echo

Paul Potts Press Association

Anita Syvret Gloucestershire Echo

Derek Tucker Press and Journal

Neil Wallis The Sunday People

Chris Williams Daily Express

John Witherow The Sunday Times

Ian Beales Consultant to the Committee

A Grahame Thomson Secretary to the Committee