By Jacqui Hames

We are lucky to live in a country that values free speech, yet too often it’s those who have the loudest megaphone and the deepest pockets who are heard most. Over time, the press — the supposed guardians of truth — have become part of the problem.

The result is a Fourth Estate that too often manipulates and colludes with power rather than challenges it — leaving the public adrift and unsure whom to trust.

Despite seven public inquiries into media ethics, politicians have repeatedly bowed to powerful press barons, allowing their influence to remain unchallenged. Each time, the chance for real reform has been squandered, chipping away at credibility and trust.

The last tipping point that forced this issue back into the spotlight came in 2011 — and I found myself in the middle of it.

THE HACK

This year on 24th September, ITV1/ITVX premiered its new flagship drama ‘The Hack’. 

Based on ‘Hack Attack’ by investigative journalist Nick Davis, it interweaves the exposure of press corruption with the police investigation into the murder of private investigator Daniel Morgan. This investigation was led by my ex-husband Dave Cook and includes how it impacted our relationship. It won’t be an easy watch for me, or my family and friends. 

However, it’s important these stories are told, and the team have achieved an extraordinary feat bringing these complex threads together with flare and detail in an entertaining and deeply human way.

Writer Jack Thorne (‘Adolescence’, ‘This Is England’, ‘His Dark Materials’) and the producers of ‘Mr. Bates vs The Post Office’ have shown not only Davies’s years-long investigation into press criminality — including the hacking and surveillance of my family — but also the emotional and personal toll it took on everyone involved.

‘The Hack’ captures the chaos, courage, and cost of pursuing the truth — and what it feels like to stand up to power when the system is rigged against you. There are thousands of victims of this scandal. For some, the impact was fleeting. For many, it was devastating. NGN alone has paid out over £1.2 billion in compensation to date, to try and keep these stories from ever seeing the light of day. But money does not buy peace of mind, repair trust, or stitch back together a family fractured by intrusion.

Unsurprisingly, it hasn’t had the coverage other ITV dramas enjoy. Perhaps that’s no coincidence. Are certain media companies once again working behind the scenes to silence narratives which expose their wrongdoing? Have their tactics of spreading fear across the industry and controlling what the public is told, worked — again?

‘The Hack’ only shows the tip of the iceberg — one organisation, one newspaper — but there are many others. Every victim carries a story of bullying, intimidation, and lasting emotional damage. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a politician or a beautician, actor or industrialist — no one deserves to have their life invaded, or their dignity stripped away without good cause.

Many people just like you and I, victims of circumstance, were followed, spied upon, and written about in ways that shattered their security. They were left constantly looking over their shoulders, wondering who was watching, who was listening, what would appear next. That is a form of slow-burn trauma that never truly fades.

For me, this isn’t just history. Watching it played out on screen is both vindication and re-traumatisation. But it also reminds me why this still matters: truth must never be buried, no matter how powerful those who fear it.

What’s happened to journalism?

Another victim has been the profession of journalism itself. Too many young, idealistic reporters enter newsrooms full of purpose only to find themselves pressured to produce outrage, gossip, and clickbait — serving algorithms and ad revenue, not the truth.

Many are forced to filter their stories through the ideological lens of editors who answer not to the public, but to owners chasing political or commercial interests.
I fear for them — for their sanity, for their profession — and I worry they are becoming a dying breed.

Seeing so many brave journalists perish in Gaza trying to tell stories for the public record should shake us to our bones. It should outrage us. They are the best of us.

So, is there still money to be made in telling the truth? Can media barons be trusted as custodians of the Fourth Estate — especially with the growing threat of AI? And how will we even know the difference when the line between human and machine, fact and fabrication, grows thinner every day?

Thankfully of course, as Nick Davis has shown, there are still many investigative and political journalists bucking this trend by doing all they can to bring accurate authentic stories to us, expose scandals, promote transparency, and hold the people who have so much power and influence over us to account, using facts and informed comment – without fear or favour. But generally, they are working on the sidelines. The huge surge in popularity of news podcasts shows such as ‘The Rest is Politics’ and ‘The Newsagents’ and emerging newspapers such as the Byline Times and The New World, show the appetite for independent ethical journalism, trying to fill in the gaps left by bias, but they cannot compete with the breadth and reach of coverage by established mainstream media.

The effect on the public

Because, another victim of media abuses is of course, public trust. Perhaps the most pernicious impact of all.

There is a historic unwritten contract between mainstream news journalists - written and broadcast – and the public. They want to be our independent watchdogs - a privileged position reporting and commenting on events, holding the powerful to account, investigating and contextualising, with a healthy scepticism, to inform and update us on what’s happening in the country, the world, and how it affects us. Not to mention making sense of all the noise of social media. All on our behalf. 

So why does media bias matter. Some would say it’s all free speech after all, and we live in a free country – so what?

Political bias significantly affects how we consume, interpret, and respond to news about the most important political decisions effecting all our lives. It can shape not just what we believe, and how we vote, but how we process information in the first place. 

Most of us don’t have the time or inclination to do a detailed analysis of every news story so we put our trust in the mainstream outlets. So, it’s easy to see how political bias in the media quietly shapes the way we think.

First, most of us naturally gravitate toward news that backs up what we already believe. It feels comfortable—but it can trap us in echo chambers, where we only ever hear the voices that agree with us. Shutting down reasonable debate.

Then there’s the language itself. The same protest can be described as a “freedom rally” by one outlet and a “mob” by another. The facts might be the same, but the spin changes everything about how we perceive it.

Sometimes, it’s not what’s said—it’s what’s left out. When facts are cherry-picked or stripped of context, the story we’re left with can be warped, even if some elements are technically true.

Over time, people catch on to these biases, and the result is distrust—not just of the worst offenders, but of journalism as a whole. That cynicism can harden into apathy, or worse, make people vulnerable to radicalisation.

To keep us hooked, biased outlets often play on raw emotions—fear, anger, pride. It works, but it leaves little space for calm reflection or critical thinking. We react instead of reflect.

And at the heart of it all lies the danger to democracy itself. When we’re no longer working from a shared set of facts, when nuance gets lost to soundbites and clickbait, our ability to debate, decide, and move forward together starts to unravel.

In the end, truth itself becomes a battleground — and if we lose that, we lose everything.

So, the newspapers can still have a real impact on how we vote, and why businessmen still consider them valuable assets. The Sun print newspaper for example hasn’t made a profit in years, and yet the Murdoch corporation clings on to it. You have to ask yourself if it’s purely because of the political influence it provides. 

Having said that print newspaper sales are in decline, it’s worth remembering their content is amplified daily through broadcast news as well as online news sites and social media. In fact, more people read newspaper content today than ever in history, albeit online rather than in print. A misogynistic or racist headline today, drip-feeds into public consciousness and emboldens those who would otherwise think twice before expressing extreme views.

Most mainstream UK outlets now reflect a narrow slice of the political spectrum; it could even be argued some titles have become just propaganda outlets for political parties - they are entitled to do so. But conversely, aren’t we then entitled to know about the people and philosophies of those who set the organisational culture and seek to influence and dominate the news agenda. When did you last see a newspaper editor or press baron challenged in an interview?

Often it is censorship by omission, alternative views or facts, awkward truths and logical argument are given no oxygen, column inches or airtime – so much for free speech for all. 

A lot is said of the power of the tech moguls – Musk, Zuckerberg and company.  And that is surely cause for concern.

But it is not they who are wandering in and out of Downing Street, and enjoying private meals and meetings with the Prime Minister – as the heir to News UK, Lachlan Murdoch, reportedly did twice this last summer alone.  Despite Leveson’s recommendations for greater transparency, we will never know the detail of what Sir Keir and Mr Murdoch discussed.

There is a reason the British press is the least trusted in Europe.

Local news

Meanwhile, local news— once the bedrock of accountability—has been allowed to wither under the ownership of a handful of national and international publishers, who have squeezed local titles until they have become unsustainable. For decades, local journalists uncovered vital stories of public interest. Their decline has been politically convenient: for both publishers and politicians, it’s easier to dominate the national conversation when there’s no one left asking awkward questions in town halls.

IPSO

The “regulator” established by the industry after Leveson, IPSO, was the mainstream newspaper’s chance to show, once again, they could regulate themselves and hold their members to account, when they fail to uphold their own self defined standards.

But once again, they’ve shown they simply cannot be trusted to mark their own homework. They are still intruding into the grief of victims, still destroying reputations and businesses without accountability, still holding politicians to ransom rather than account. Emboldened by the lack of political will to establish standards, casual misinformation, misogyny and racism has thrived.  In the 13 years since implementation, IPSO has not instigated one standards investigation into a newspaper, let alone upheld a complaint or imposed a £1 million fine – as was loudly promised at its inception. It is, as we feared it would be, a sham. Funded and run by themselves, why would they when they can flout their own code with impunity. 

It should horrify us that Rebekah Brooks was paid millions after leaving the corporation at the height of the scandal, only to return and become its chief executive. Looking at the culture of the organisation she presided over, exposed by part 1 of Leveson, it’s hard to reconcile what Rupert Murdoch thought she could bring to her new role. 

Since the phone hacking scandal, News UK have benefited from millions in state subsidies in the form of public advertising contracts and a huge tax break.

They’re laughing at us all the way to the bank.

What’s coming next…

It was no coincidence, that from Day One of his first presidency in 2016, that Donald Trump sought to undermine trust in the US mainstream news media pronouncing by them all ‘fake news’ and promoting and listening only to those outlets, like Fox News, that provided utterly biased coverage, misinformation and at times completely untrue stories. 

This has now been accelerated and deepened in his second term, with the regulatory and legal attacks on media companies and individuals who dare to espouse opposing views, using them to weaponise his attacks on free speech in the supposed ‘land of the free.’ 

If such a Populist leader were ever to be elected to power in the UK, there would already be a compliant supportive cohort of influential news outlets ready to do their bidding and dominate the public discourse, denying and manipulating opposing views and indeed facts, and oxygen.

Why me?

I was an ordinary person parachuted into the middle of this debate by virtue of circumstances, at the behest of News International (now NGN) who chose me as a victim. This reflects my view from inside the debate.

In 2021 I wrote an article detailing how I became involved in the phone hacking and press abuse scandal which rocked the country - https://hackinginquiry.org/jacqui-hames-my-line-of-duty/ and how despite winning cross party support, political and business self-interest eroded and shutdown the light touch regulation recommended by Lord Justice Leveson. Plus, the cancellation of Part 2 of the Inquiry which would have focused on the criminality. Very convenient. 

So, what has happened since. As ever, once the spotlight moved away, the further erosion of press standards progressed unchecked, this time enabled by the change from a coalition Government which brought consensus and protection from the influence of powerful press barons, to a wholly Conservative Government in thrall to the media barons and happy to do their bidding. 

Abuses have continued and a culture of polarisation, distrust, hate and blame have thrived. With newspapers having less constraints on accuracy, some promote casual misogyny, racism and misinformation for click bait, and feel emboldened to keep pushing the boundaries to further their own interests in dividing us and imposing a culture of fear, hiding behind spurious claims of free speech. 

Further claims expected to be heard next year will see the Daily Mail defending devastating allegations of intrusion and abuse.

As I watch myself on screen in ‘The Hack’ (played by Eve Myles), disintegrating under the pressure of the unfolding events, it’s important for me to reflect (as well as open another bottle of Plymouth Gin!) whether the price of constantly going over difficult and upsetting personal events is worth the impact on my wellbeing. 

People ask me, nearly as often as I ask myself, why I still campaign and champion effective independent media regulation and, alongside the other hardy members of Hacked Off, endure the risks of constantly calling out a vindictive tabloid media landscape. Well, after 14 years of doing so, there is no doubt it has taken its toll. But this is why. 

Because I love my country. Because I still care deeply about our precious democracy. Because I believe that if you have lived through something like this, you have a duty not to stay silent.

I spent most of my working life in public service, including 16 years at the BBC. Once the envy of the world, the BBC is now diminished and struggles with political bias like never before. Cowed by the onslaught of the Murdochs who publicly announced their intention to destroy it, brilliant journalists are sidelined and leaving, and its standards are sliding. It is heartbreaking—but it is not beyond repair.

And nor are we.

Conclusions

Independent news regulation is not a cure-all, but it could help start to redress the balance, expose lies, corruption, promote transparency and be a watchdog of free speech. 

Low-cost arbitration would allow disputes to be settled fairly, without only the wealthy being able to take on the press, and indeed, provide protections for the press themselves when holding the wealthy and powerful to account.  

If mainstream political parties could unite in a cross-party agreement, as they briefly did in 2012, it would be a major step forward. This time, with a Labour Government and a large Liberal Democrat presence, there is no excuse. They must be held to their promises.

As ‘The Hack’ shows, it was a Guardian investigation, led by a brave team, that finally exposed the scandal. Perhaps ironically it will take more journalistic bravery—or even a fearless drama like this one—to spark the public outcry needed for meaningful change.

And in a world where liberal democracies are under attack more than at any time since the Second World War, the stakes could not be higher. Because once truth itself is lost, the line between democracy and something darker becomes perilously thin. Unless we reform the 4^th Estate we risk losing it completely. Who will be left to hold the line?

This matters. It matters to me, it matters to my family, it matters to every victim still waiting for justice. And it matters to every citizen who wants to live in a country where truth and freedom of speech for all still counts.

What can you do?

Please sign our petition - and stand by to help us hold the press to account.