David Banks is a journalist of 25 years’ experience and a media consultant delivering training to a range of national and regional media, NGOs, government, charities, PR companies, universities and the police. He is a trainer who has created and managed successful courses in journalism, media law and production journalism.
He was co-author of 18th, 19th and 20th editions of McNae’s Essential Law for Journalists, the standard text on media law, used daily for authoritative legal guidance in newsrooms and educational institutions across the UK.
He was a member of the Ministry of Justice advisory panel that examined reform of libel laws in 2010 and he also advised the MoJ on allowing greater media access to the family courts in the same year.
In 2011 he was invited to contribute to the inquiry by Lord Justice Leveson into the culture, practices and ethics of the press following the phone-hacking scandal.
He writes regularly on law and the media for The Guardian, The Independent and The Mirror. He is a frequent contributor to BBC Breakfast as well as other TV and radio news programmes.
He is currently working on a major project delivering lawðics training to all members of editorial staff at the Trinity Mirror newspaper group.
