The Independent Press Standards Organisation: Standard setter or complaints paci.

The Independent Press Standards Organisation is the largest press regulator in the UK chosen by the majority of national and regional publishers to protect standards. Ipso was established in controversial circumstances following the 2011 Leveson Inquiry into press practices and ethics after the tabloid phone hacking scandal. The Press Complaints Commission, which preceded Ipso, was disbanded having received considerable criticism at the inquiry for its limited regulation of the press. The Leveson report recommended a new system that included legislative backing through a Press Recognition Panel to guarantee independent press regulation, a proposal accepted by parliament. Ipso was set up by publishers without this recognition and to a background of publisher hostility to the Leveson report. Ipso, in its corporate strategy, says it does protect the public and freedom of expression. This paper attempts to examine that claim by looking in detail at the complaints made to Ipso and the resulting action to see if it really does protect the public in the way Leveson called for and parliament supported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]