Paul Vickers, the former legal director of Trinity Mirror, is to quit as chair of the funding body behind the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso) in order to avoid criticism of his role at the Daily Mirror publisher potentially damaging the fledgling press regulator.
His decision to stand down two months ahead of possible re-election in May comes a day after the high court in London heard allegations of phone hacking “on an industrial scale” at Trinity Mirror’s three national titles and serious criticism of his role by campaigning group Hacked Off.
In a statement issued on Wednesday afternoon, Vickers said: “I believe passionately in voluntary independent self-regulation of the press. Ipso is not perfect but it is the best chance that we have of establishing a proper system in the UK. It has the support of the vast majority of the press and has an excellent and robust chairman in Sir Alan Moses.
“Having devoted a huge amount of my time to setting up Ipso, I do not want my position to be used by its enemies and the enemies of a robust free press as a weapon with which to beat it.
“I have therefore told the board of the RFC [Regulatory Funding Company] that I have brought forward my departure date and resigned as director and chairman with immediate effect.”
Vickers, who was an architect of Ipso in the wake of the Leveson inquiry into press failings over phone hacking, said he hoped to return to the media industry after his role was made redundant from Trinity Mirror as part of a larger restructuring last October.
He indicated that he had always planned to stand down as chair of the RFC rather than stand for re-election at the AGM in May. He said: “I had indicated privately some time ago that I would not be putting myself up for re-election, as mentioned by John Whittingdale at the culture, media and sport select committee hearing on 24 February.”
His decision will be welcomed by Hacked Off who have been highly criticial of his failure to find evidence of phone hacking.
A member of the RFC, which collects the levy from the industry to support Ipso and governs its finances, was supportive of his role as chair following the criticism, saying he had done a “terrific job”.
The Guardian, Financial Times and Independent are the three national titles that have not joined Ipso.
