• Introduction
• Chairman's perspective
• Public representatives
• Complainants
• Professional representatives
• Newspapers and magazines
• The Press Complaints Commission
• Simon Sapper - Assistant Secretary, Communication Workers' Union and PCC Public Commission member
• Charlotte Dewar - PCC Complaints Officer
• Constructive critics
• International perspective
• Historical perspective
• Putting it into perspective

The Press Complaints Commission

Charlotte Dewar - PCC Complaints Officer

I joined the PCC as a Complaints Officer in early 2010. What struck me first was the contrast between the Commission's public profile, which is inevitably bound up in wider controversies about the British press, and the day-to-day experience of working here, which - while it often carries implications for industry practices - is constantly focused on the people who come to us for help, whether they are complainants or editors worried about running afoul of the Editors' Code.

Of course, not all of these concerns can be amicably resolved; in some cases, the Commission cannot establish a breach of the Code in material which has been the subject of a complaint. Where these decisions relate to the publication of views which the complainant fi nds upsetting or offensive, there is a danger that this may be interpreted as a sign that Commissioners and staff have failed to understand the complaint or are indifferent to the complainant's distress. In such cases, the knowledge that the Commission has upheld the principle of freedom of expression by making a judgement based on the terms of the Code can seem like cold comfort.

But freedom of expression is at the core of what we do, and it is not only an abstract idea - it has human consequences. I was reminded of this after sending to a group of complainants, all of whom live in Russia or have close ties to the country, a decision that the Commission had not found an outstanding breach of the Code in their case. Their representative responded: "We are disappointed with this decision. At the same time, we have been impressed by the efficiency and fairness of the PCC proceedings in this case. This experience has reinforced our belief in the principle of self-regulation of the media, which we hope will prevail in future Russia like it has prevailed in Britain. We wish the PCC every success in resisting pressure to replace the PCC with state regulation and preserving the important democratic principle of self-regulation."