Abell was deputy director of the Press Complaints Commission at the time of giving evidence, having previously acted as one of two assistant directors at the Commission. Abell provided extensive information on the background of the PCC, its guidelines regarding conduct, and desirable ways of balancing the interests of editors and the public. He also argued in favour of pre-publication consultation. If a person knew something was to be written about them, the PCC could represent the person to the paper "and give advice to the editor, while letting the editor retain the decision about publication. But the effect is very often that stories are either not published, or that the inaccurate and untruthful parts of stories are not published." Now a radio presenter and editor of the Times Literary Supplement, Abell was also Managing Editor of The Sun from 2013 to 2016.
Chief Financial Officer of NI Group Limited, parent company of Times Newspapers Holdings Ltd (TNHL), at the time of giving evidence. NI was also the parent company of News Group Newspapers which owned The Sun and, before its closure in July 2011, News of the World. Panuccio was asked what systems were in place to ensure that newspaper funds were not used to pay bribes or fund illegal news-gathering. Outlining new systems, she noted that cash payments had dropped substantially in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal.
Founded 1981. British newspaper publisher at the centre of the phone-hacking scandal. At the time of the Inquiry, NI was publisher of The Times, The Sunday Times and The Sun newspapers. Former publications included Today, News of the World and The London Paper. On 31 May 2011, the company name was changed from News International Limited to NI Group Limited, and on 26 June 2013 to News UK. In opening evidence, NI's counsel, Rhodri Davies, welcomed the Inquiry and apologised for the phone hacking. He said lessons had been learned. He also declared that NI was in favour of self-regulation and that the company believed the PCC could be improved.
Tabloid newspaper published in UK and Republic of Ireland since 1964. Published by the News Group Newspapers division of News UK, itself a wholly owned subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. The Sun on Sunday was launched in February 2012, following the closure of the News of the World, and the paper became a seven-day operation. Rebekah Brooks, John Edwards, Duncan Larcombe, Kelvin MacKenzie and Gordon Smart all gave evidence relating to The Sun.
Daily national newspaper based in London. First issued 1785 under the masthead The Daily Universal Register, adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. The Times and its sister paper, the Sunday Times (founded in 1821), are published by Times Newspapers, a subsidiary of News UK, wholly owned by News Corp. The Times and Sunday Times do not share editorial staff, were founded independently, and have only had common ownership since 1967. James Harding, editor at the time of the Inquiry, and Philip Webster, editor of The Times website and former political editor, gave evidence. Rupert Pennant-Rae gave evidence on behalf of the INDS, The Times's six Independent Directors.
