Leveson inquiry: Ministers granted core participant status

Eight government ministers, including the prime minister, culture secretary and home secretary, have been granted core participant status in the Leveson inquiry.

Lord Leveson today said he could not grant an application made by "the government", but did grant applications by eight individual ministers who he said would be referred to collectively as "government core participants".

Core participant status rights include early access to documents and advance sight of witness statements in confidence. A full list of core participants is available here.

Leveson also told the inquiry there "can be no question of access being sought for the purpose of preparing evidence" as the prime minister and culture secretary have already submitted primary statements, and the other ministers will do the same with the last statement due later today.

The eight ministers identified in the granted application include the Prime Minister David Cameron, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove, Lord Chancellor for Justice Ken Clarke, Home Secretary Theresa May and Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne.

"Core participant" status can be granted by Lord Justice Leveson to people or groups who "played, or may have played, a direct and significant role in matters to which this part of the inquiry relates".

Free daily newsletter

If you like our news and feature articles, you can sign up to receive our free daily (Mon-Fri) email newsletter (mobile friendly).