Leveson 2 could help UK move on from hacking scandal, says TV writer Jack Thorne

The Hack writer Jack Thorne has suggested the UK needs a follow-up to the Leveson Inquiry so the country can “move on” from the phone-hacking scandal, which led to a judicial public inquiry into the British press.

Thorne, 46, co-creator of hit Netflix mini-series Adolescence, wrote the script for the new ITV series which follows Nick Davies (David Tennant), an investigative journalist who uncovered evidence of phone hacking at the Rupert Murdoch-owned News Of The World.

Labour previously said it would go ahead with a further inquiry but Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has confirmed a Leveson 2 has been ruled out.

Speaking at a Q&A, Thorne said: “I think we’re living in a really dangerous and difficult moment.

“When I grew up, if (newscaster) Trevor McDonald said something on ITV News, or if someone said something on BBC One at nine o’clock, I trusted every word that was said, and now we’re living in a world where no one seems to trust anything, where everything is about what point of view you sit at in terms of which journalist you listen to.

“That idea of ‘fact’ is really under threat and I think we need to be asking, ‘How did that happen?’

“And I don’t think it’s just the result of this. I think it’s the result of a number of different things, but this was a hugely contributing factor.”

Thorne added: “This story hasn’t been told properly… It hasn’t been given the opportunity to be investigated properly. Leveson was supposed to be in two parts.

“There was supposed to be Leveson 1, and then there was supposed to be Leveson 2, and Leveson 2 was supposed to be looking into criminality, it was supposed to be looking into these relationships that were so problematic, and that inquiry was denied, and it was denied by the Conservative government.

“And then Labour were going to come in, and Labour said one of the things they were going to do is Leveson 2, and now they’ve shelved it.

“We need this itch, this painful itch, properly scratched… so that we can move on from it. Because it was extraordinary. It was extraordinary.

“And what it means about our institutions, about the country we live in, it really matters to look at it and look at it properly.”

The show also stars Mr Bates Vs The Post Office actor Toby Jones, who plays the former editor-in chief of The Guardian, Alan Rusbridger, who worked alongside Davies on the hacking story.

The scandal led to the News Of The World’s closure in 2011 and News Group Newspapers (NGN) has since settled a number of damages claims from high-profile figures concerning unlawful information gathering.

Earlier this year, the Duke of Sussex settled his legal action against the publisher of The Sun and received an apology from NGN.

Set between 2002 and 2012, seven-part series The Hack interweaves two real-life stories: the work of Davies and the investigation into the unsolved murder of private investigator Daniel Morgan.

The investigation was led by former Metropolitan Police detective chief superintendent Dave Cook, who is played by Scottish actor Robert Carlyle.

Mr Morgan, a 37-year-old father-of-two, was killed with an axe in the car park of the Golden Lion pub in Sydenham, south-east London, on March 10 1987.

Mr Cook’s ex-wife Jacqui Hames has alleged that her confidential police personnel file was sold to private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, who worked for the News Of The World, and that the newspaper put her and Mr Cook under surveillance because of their role in investigating Mr Morgan’s murder.

Among the executive producers on the ITV show is Patrick Spence, who produced Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, the ITV drama which renewed attention on the Horizon IT scandal and the subpostmasters who were wrongly prosecuted.

The Hack will air on ITV and STV and will be available for streaming on ITVX and STV Player.