Newspapers groups, victims of phone hacking and other forms of privacy intrusion by the press, and the Metropolitan Police Service have been granted core participant status in the Leveson Inquiry.

In his ruling, released today, Lord Justice Leveson explains his decision on the several applications made before him at the Royal Courts of Justice on 6 September 2011.

Victims represented by barristers David Sherborne and Jeremy Reed (see Appendix at the end of this post) were all accepted as core participants, except for an individual known as HJK (who was granted anonymity in a High Court civil claim) as Lord Justice Leveson would like to learn the individual’s identity before considering the application.

Former chief executive of News International Rebekah Brooks, private investigator Jonathan Rees (William Rees), and campaigning groups English PEN and Index on Censorship were all refused core participant status for Part 1 of the inquiry.

About Mrs Brooks, Lord Justice Leveson said:

“Although I can understand the reason for this application, in my judgment, it does not pay sufficient attention to the terms of Part I of the Inquiry which is to analyse the way forward in the light of the broad experience (not descending into the detail required by Part 2 of the Inquiry) of the past.

Mrs Brooks has very considerable knowledge and experience; I hope and believe that her input into the Inquiry will be of enormous value but, at this stage and in the context of what I am presently required to do, I do not consider that it is necessary or appropriate to designate her as a core participant.”

The Metropolitan Police Service and Acting Commissioner Tim Godwin have also been named as core participants and will be assisting the inquiry.

Guardian News and Media, News International Group Ltd, and Shell Network Ltd (the holding company of the publishing group that includes the Daily Express, the Sunday Express, the Daily Star and the Daily Star Sunday), successfully applied and will be entitled to legal representation during the inquiry.

Lord Justice Leveson’s said:

“Every aspect of Part 1 touches upon the press and its outcome will inevitably be relevant to (if not impact upon) the approach to certain types of news gathering and its dissemination, along with the relationship between the press and the public, the police, potential regulators and politicians.

Thus, if the culture and practices of the press require change, the effect will be upon all. In the circumstances, I have no doubt that each of these media groups is entitled to core participant status for each module of this Part.”

Read Lord Justice Leveson’s ruling in full here.

Thais Portilho-Shrimpton is the Hacked Off campaign co-ordinator.

This post originally appeared on the Hacked Off blog and is reproduced with permission and thanks

APPENDIX

Individuals who have been granted core participants status:

Chris Bryant MP
Tessa Jowell MP
Denis MacShane MP
The Rt Hon Lord Prescott of Kingston upon Hull
Joan Smith
Christopher Shipman
Tom Rowland
Mark Lewis
Mark Thomson
Gerry McCann
Kate McCann
Christopher Jefferies
Max Moseley
Brian Paddick
Paul Gascoigne
David Mills
Sienna Miller
Hugh Grant
Ben Jackson
Ciara Parkes
Simon Hughes MP
Max Clifford
Sky Andrew
Ulrika Jonsson
Mark Oaten
Michele Milburn
Abi Titmuss
Calum Best
Claire Ward
Mary-Ellen Field
Gary Flitcroft
Ian Hurst
Shobna Gulati
Mike Hollingsworth
Kieron Fallon
Ashvini Sharma
Tim Blackstone
Valatina Semenenko
Sally Dowler
Bob Dowler
Gemma Dowler
Sheryl Gascoigne
Graham Shear
JK Rowling
James Watson
Margaret Watson