Leveson Report calls for media watchdog underpinned by law It suggests that members of the Government and Opposition front benchers should publish details on a quarterly basis of all meetings with media proprietors, editors and executives, including "private" meetings at their homes. A summary of telephone calls, letters, emails and text messages between the parties should also be published. David Cameron is criticised in the report for undermining public confidence in politicians by creating the perception that he had become too close to newspaper proprietors. Senior police officers should also publish details of their meetings with the media, and should think carefully before drinking alcohol with them. Lord Justice Leveson found no widespread evidence of police corruption in dealing with the media, but criticises the Metropolitan Police's decision-making during the original phone-hacking inquiry and says former assistant commissioner John Yates should have declined to review the hacking investigation because of his personal friendship with the then News of the World deputy editor Neil Wallis. It is Lord Justice Leveson's recommendations for the future of press regulation, however, that will prove most controversial and will lead to the greatest political fall-out. He suggests an independent regulator with the power to fine newspapers up to £1m or one per cent of turnover for breaching a new code of conduct, and says it should be up to the media to agree the form and powers of the new watchdog. Crucially, however, the regulator must be underpinned by statute, to protect the freedom of the press, to reassure the public and validate the new body, he says. "The legislation would not give any rights to Parliament, to the Government or to any regulatory or other body to prevent newspapers from publishing any material whatsoever," he says. Despite what will be said about these recommendations by those who oppose them, this is not, and cannot be characterised as, statutory regulation of the press. What is proposed here is independent regulation of the press organised by the press, with a statutory verification process to ensure that the required levels of independence and effectiveness are met. The new body, he says, should have an arbitration system to enable wronged parties to seek swift redress by way of a prominent apology and fines, if appropriate. He also suggests a kite mark system for publications that are signed up to the new regulator and a whistleblowing hotline for journalists who believe they are being put under pressure to breach the new code of conduct, with legal protection to prevent them being victimised for doing so. The broadcasting regulator Ofcom should carry out reviews every two years of how the new regulator is working, he suggests, and should act as backstop regulator if publishers refuse to sign up to the new body. The Information Commissioner should also be given greater powers to prosecute newspapers for breaches of data protection. The board of the new body must comprise a majority of people independent of the press, with some former journalists but no serving editors and no MPs, according to Lord Justice Leveson. Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, is cleared of any bias in his dealing with News Corp's bid to take over BSkyB when he was culture secretary, but he is criticised for failing properly to supervise contact between his former special adviser, Adam Smith, and the News Corp lobbyist Fred Michel.