A PHOTOGRAPHER from Bournemouth is due to give evidence to the phone-hacking scandal inquiry today.

Neil Turner, who lives in Moordown, will address the Leveson Inquiry in his role as vice chairman of the British Press Photographers’ Association.

The inquiry was originally set up in the wake of the scandal that saw the demise of the News of the World, but freelance photographer Neil, who has worked for the Sunday Times, said the association wanted to address criticism of photographers, particularly from celebrities, during the hearings.

He said: “We responded to the early criticisms of press photographers from the celebrities, all the people who gave evidence in the first couple of weeks.

“We’re going for two reasons. One is to counter some of the criticism, but the main reason for going is to put our case to be involved when it comes to the decisions about how we move forward from here.

“That’s really important because there’s a lot of discussion about privacy laws and other possible outcomes from Leveson, most of which would be against the freedom of the press.”