Michael Dugher MP, Labour’s Shadow Culture, Media and Sport Secretary, responding to reports that the Government will not proceed with Part 2 of the Leveson Inquiry, said:

“David Cameron made clear promises to the British public, to Parliament and directly to the victims of phone hacking that he would fully implement the cross-party agreement on Leveson’s recommendations and then proceed with the second part of the inquiry once criminal proceedings into phone hacking had finished. 

“The Government is not only shelving a central plank of the Leveson recommendations, which would incentivise publishes to sign up to a Royal Charter-backed regulator, but it is now reported that David Cameron will not proceed with the second part of the Leveson Inquiry.

“David Cameron must stand by all his promises to the victims of phone hacking. Anything else would be a betrayal of the phone hacking victims and their families and it would mean turning a blind eye to allegations of possible high-level police corruption.”