IPSO has announced that Lord Triesman has been appointed as Chair of the IPSO Appointment Panel.

Commenting, Hacked Off Policy Director Nathan Sparkes said,

The appointment of former Government Minister Lord Triesman as Chair of the IPSO Appointment Panel is another example of the lack of transparency and independence of the press complaints handler. The process by which this appointment has been made is opaque and unaccountable, and the new Chair is appointed by a board which he will now renew. All this is a clear violation of the Leveson principles of transparency, accountability and independence.

The Appointments Panel is severely restricted in the decisions it can take. Most of them are governed by industry-written rules which dictate the handful of non-industry appointments which can be made.

Nonetheless, this appointment again demonstrates the hypocrisy of a press that shouts “political interference” at all forms of independent regulation but is content for politicians to be at the heart of an organisation which claims to hold thousands of journalists to account.

Contact: press@hackinginquiry.org