Former senior civil servant Sir Joseph Pilling is carry out a review of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), the new watchdog set up by the newspaper and magazine industry in the wake of the Leveson inquiry.
The Leveson inquiry into press standards and ethics was sharply critical of IPSO's predecessor, the Press Complaints Commission, which it argued was too close to the industry. That led media groups to establish a new self-regulator, IPSO, which the government intended to be verified by a statutory body, the Press Recognition Panel.
However, IPSO has refused to apply for PRP recognition, and newspaper groups have hit out at the statutory element of the government's plans, arguing that they represent a threat to press freedom.
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Instead, IPSO has drafted in Pilling to carry out his own review of the regulator's independence, investigating whether it has been "faithful to its publicly stated principles and values".
Pilling had stints at the Prison Service and the Department of Health in 1990s before becoming permanent secretary of the Northern Ireland Office in 1997, a post he held until his retirement in 2005. He also served as the UK's first Identity Commissioner, a short-lived regulator set up under Labour to oversee its controversial National Identity Scheme.
According to the regulator, Pilling will probe issues including how IPSO is funded; the relationship between the organisation and its members; its accessibility to the public; and the effectiveness of its complaints system.
In a statement confirming his appointment, Pilling said: "I welcome IPSO’s decision to set up an external review at what is an important time for the newspaper and magazine industry in the UK.
"I look forward to engaging with a wide range of industry stakeholders, as well as the general public, and would encourage anyone who has observations and views they wish to submit to contact us."
His review will report back within six months. The chair of IPSO's appointments panel, Wendy Harris, said Pilling was someone of "unimpeachable independence, with a track record of conducting high profile reviews".
"We were very pleased that we were able to appoint someone as eminent and experienced as Sir Joseph," she said.
IPSO's decision not to seek verification under the government's Royal Charter has led to criticism from media reform campaign group Hacked Off. Newspapers The Guardian, the Financial Times and the Independent have also refused to join the organisation.