A whistleblowing hotline for journalists concerned with unethical practices in newsrooms is to become a 24 hours a day operation.

The Independent Press Standards Organisation has run the independent and confidential service, which allows journalists who feel they are being pressured to act against the Editors’ Code of Practice to report the matter, for more than a year.

It was set up in line with recommendations made in the Leveson report, and has now been outsourced to allow callers to voice their grievances at any time of day, 365 days a year.

Previously the service was an office-hours only provision, with an out-of-hours voicemail service, operated from the IPSO offices.

IPSO says it has worked closely with the new provider to develop robust procedures and to ensure confidentiality and protection for the whistleblower.

Details of the new service will be communicated to all IPSO member publications.

Charlotte Urwin, IPSO’s Head of Standards said: “Journalists should never feel under pressure to act in a way that is contrary to the Editors’ Code.

“The provision of a whistleblowers hotline, so that they can raise concerns, is a crucial part of the work of an independent and effective press regulator.

“By contracting with an experienced external provider who has considerable knowledge of providing similar services to a number of private and public sector institutions, IPSO is confident that the hotline meets the very highest standards available.”