The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its European group, the Federation of European Journalists (EFJ), today welcomed the decision of the Leveson inquiry into journalistic practices to grant Core Participants Status to the National Union of Journalists of Great Britain and Ireland (NUJ). The inquiry led by Lord Justice Leveson began hearings on Monday at London's Royal Courts of Justice which will examine the ethics and the culture in journalism as well as the functioning of the media self- regulation mechanism in the wake of the phone hacking scandal.

"This decision provides the NUJ with a fantastic opportunity to defend the independence of journalists from disreputable managers," said IFJ President, Jim Boumelha. "We commend the union's leadership for securing this crucial representation on behalf of its members and all journalists in the UK."

The Core Participants Status allows the NUJ, an IFJ and EFJ affiliate, to make submissions to the inquiry and access other parties' to which it can also react. In her opening submission to the inquiry yesterday on the third day of hearings, the NUJ General Secretary Michelle Stanistreet blamed editors and media owners for the culture of unethical behavior in the pursuit of sensational stories. She said journalists are vulnerable to newsroom pressure and need an independent union to defend them when they stand up against unethical practices.

"We seek to persuade you to make recommendations which recognise the vital role the NUJ has in protecting journalists from (amongst other things) pressure to engage in unethical practices," she told the inquiry. "We have been campaigning for some years now for a Conscience Clause so that when journalists stand up for a principle of journalistic ethics, they have a contractual protection against being dismissed and - crucially - so they have the confidence and the security to put their head above the parapet in the first place."

The IFJ and EFJ back NUJ which accused the present media self-regulation body, the Press Complaint Commission (PCC) of failing to uphold journalists' ethics. Stanistreet described the PCC as "little more than a self-serving gentleman's club" and warned that the NUJ will oppose "any changes that would lead to anything akin to the licensing of journalists or anything that would in the slightest dilute press freedom."

"For years we have had the media bosses' model of self- regulation. It is one that excludes both the producers and the consumers of the media output and represents only the owners," she added.

The two federations support reform of the PCC and say that the role of the future media self- regulation body must include the promotion of press standards.

"The press scandal which happened on the PCC's watch proved it is not fit for the purpose it is supposed to serve," added Arne König, EFJ President. "We support the NUJ opposition to any changes which adversely impact on journalistic standards as they do a disservice to our members and the public."

For more information, please contact IFJ on + 32 2 235 22 07

The IFJ represents more than 600.000 journalists in 131 countries