LORD Justice Leveson has rejected fresh claims that a counsel for the inquiry who reportedly had a relationship with a barrister who represented celebrities may have influenced the conclusions in his report on press standards.
Tory MP Rob Wilson claimed legal notices warning the press of likely criticisms they would face drafted by Carine Patry Hoskins, who was brought up in Glasgow, were "substantially similar" to the findings in the report.
But Lord Justice Leveson said Ms Patry Hoskins's role in producing the notices was limited to the "largely mechanical" exercise of organising the evidence and not in setting out criticisms of the press in the letters.
In a letter to the judge, Mr Wilson had claimed similarities between the "Rule 13" warning letters and the final conclusions meant the authors of the notices – including Ms Patry Hoskins – "may have had consider-able input into sections of the report, for example that dealing with the generic criticisms of culture, practices and ethics of the press".
He also demanded to know what the judge's "understanding of the nature of the personal relations" between Ms Patry Hoskins and David Sherborne was at the time the letters were written.
Mr Sherborne, who represented Hugh Grant and other phone hacking victims, is said to have gone on holiday with Ms Patry Hoskins to the Greek island of Santorini last August, days after the public hearings concluded and months before the inquiry ended.
Lord Justice Leveson said the generic criticisms in the Rule 13 letters were "formulated by more senior members of the inquiry team under my direction" and not by Ms Patry Hoskins.
He added: "It is right to say that, with others, Ms Patry Hoskins assisted in the largely mechanical exercise of collecting and organising the evidence to support the generic criticisms set out in the Rule 13 letters."
But the judge said Ms Patry Hoskins had "absolutely no role" in work on the section of the report addressing the culture, practices and ethics of the press.
Born in France, Ms Patry Hoskins moved to Glasgow aged two when her father Philippe got a job teaching languages at Glasgow University. Her mother, Anne-Marie, is a retired primary school teacher.
She grew up in Woodlands, in the west end, and went to Hillhead High School.
Ms Patry Hoskins studied law at Glasgow University gaining first-class honours, before achieving a first-class Masters of Laws at the Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Specialising in public and administrative law, she was called to the Bar in 2000. For the last 12 years she has worked for London-based Landmark Chambers in immigration, mental health, education and planning.
In 2011, Ms Patry Hoskins was chosen alongside fellow barristers Robert Jay, QC, and David Barr to serve as counsel to the Leveson Inquiry.
She trended on Twitter in November 2011 as "#womanontheleft" after TV coverage showed her listening intently to testimony from Hugh Grant, whose lawyer was Mr Sherborne.
She and her husband, Mark Hoskins, QC, are separated and are in the process of finalising their divorce. The couple have two children.
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