Lawyers insist that relationship revealed in gossip columns did not start until after report was published
The smouldering row surrounding the future regulation of the press reignited yesterday when it emerged that two key lawyers on different sides of the Leveson inquiry went on holiday together before it had made its recommendations and are now in a relationship.
Opponents and supporters of the estimated £6m inquiry waded into battle over the importance of the revelation, with even the head of the inquiry, Lord Justice Leveson, forced to issue a statement.
The highly unusual intervention followed the revelation that Carine Patry Hoskins, a junior counsel for Leveson, who was involved in drafting legal correspondence between the inquiry and individuals and organisations that gave evidence, and David Sherborne, who represented the actor Hugh Grant and several other notable phone-hacking victims, went to the Greek island of Santorini last August, just days after the inquiry's public hearings concluded.
The two lawyers insist that their relationship did not begin until after the Leveson report, recommending the statutory regulation of the press, was published last November. They told friends that they went on holiday to Santorini only to "discuss the possibility of a future relationship".
However, confirmation of the relationship, reported extensively in the Sun and the Daily Mail, has prompted questions about whether the two may have opened themselves up to potential conflicts of interest.
The Mail highlighted Bar Council guidelines warning barristers against relationships with counsel involved in the same case because clients might perceive "a danger of breach of confidence or other conspiracy".
Patry Hoskins's appearance at the inquiry saw her become the subject of extensive interest on social media sites. During the inquiry she questioned a number of witnesses, including several of Sherborne's high-profile clients, notably the singer, Charlotte Church, who, along with Grant, is a prominent supporter of the pro-press regulation campaign group Hacked Off.
As the inquiry unfolded, the barrister became a celebrity on Twitter with her own hashtag describing her position in court, #womanontheleft. Sherborne became the centre of attention during the inquiry after clashing with Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre over a number of allegations involving Hugh Grant.
Yesterday friends of Patry Hoskins denied suggestions that, when it came to questioning witnesses during the inquiry, her objectivity could have been clouded by her burgeoning relationship with Sherborne.
It is understood Patry Hoskins, who is in the process of getting divorced, did not know Sherborne, who is divorced from his second wife, when the inquiry started and she began questioning witnesses. Their relationship started only late last year, after Leveson concluded, friends maintain.
Hacked Off said the revelation about the relationship had no bearing on Leveson and its recommendations and suggested the story was an attempt to undermine the arguments for greater regulation of the press. "There is a pattern of attempts by elements of the press to attack the Leveson inquiry," said Dr Evan Harris, associate director of Hacked Off. Harris said it was clear that Patry Hoskins had played no role in shaping the crucial part of the Leveson report recommending tighter regulation of the press.
A statement issued on behalf of Leveson said that from 3 August last year Patry Hoskins was "confined to fact collating around the historical relationship between the press and politicians. She was not involved in discussions about the other sections of the report or indeed in any of Leveson's recommendations".
News that Patry Hoskins and Sherborne were in a relationship first appeared in the Mandrake gossip column of the Sunday Telegraph last week although it had apparently been known in legal circles for several months as the couple had been regularly spotted together. The Sun reported that the Leveson inquiry's lead counsel, Robert Jay, QC, was not aware of the relationship until last month, when he "had felt obliged to inform Lord Justice Leveson". But neither Leveson nor Jay was aware of the Santorini trip until last week, the Sun reported. A spokesman for Sherborne told the Sun that his involvement with the inquiry had ended on 24 July.
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