A global journalism summit has been held in memory of legendary regional and national editor Sir Harold Evans.

The inaugural Sir Harry Evans Global Summit in Investigative Journalism took place in London on Wednesday to discuss issues facing the journalism industry worldwide.

Sir Harry, once voted the greatest newspaper editor of all time, took on his first editorship at the Northern Echo in the 1960s and later went on to run the Sunday Times for 13 years. He died in 2020 aged 92.

The summit was hosted by Reuters editor-in-chief Alessandra Galloni, Durham University vice chancellor Karen O’Brien and Sir Harry’s widow Tina Brown.

Said Tina: “Serious journalism is under threat from a perfect storm of competing forces. Misinformation, corporate timidity, legal bullying and escalating authoritarian suppression.

“We have all seen how the erosion of fact-based inquiry is a threat to functioning society and more sinister still is the increasing disregard for the Geneva conventions in multiple dark corners of the world which makes the profession of journalism a mortal risk for those who pursue it.”

Other speakers at the day-long event included Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein, Emily Maitlis and Andrew Marr.

Current Echo editor Gavin Foster was among the invitation-only audience made up of 250 editors, reporters, broadcasters, media leaders, and cultural and political influencers.

He told HTFP: “Harry was a pioneer, a giant in his field.

“It’s an honour to sit in the chair he graced and an honour to be invited to this first summit in such company and to hear the incredible insights into what such an integral part of the work we do.”

Among other issues, the summit discussed how attacks on the rights of journalists – both physical and through the courts – had become “part of the modern playbook”.

It also heard that, in the UK, worrying legislative proposals and a lack of accessibility and transparency in the courts and justice system continued to pose significant challenges for global investigative journalism.

Pia Sarma, editorial legal director at Times Newspapers Limited said that investigative journalism had become harder, in part, since the Leveson Inquiry because some of the proposals for reforms in British law were “contradictory to press freedom and still are”.

She added: “We have the National Security Bill going through parliament at the moment and, to me, it is a veil for embarrassment on the part of the government. Stories that are embarrassing could fall foul of that and journalists will be caught up in that.

“This country is not getting any better. There was an effort to not make this country the libel capital of the world but I think it still is.

“I think the problematic stuff doesn’t float up to the courts it is before you publish and it is the kerfuffles that act as a huge deterrent. If you add on top of that government action to suppress news, I don’t think we are in a good place.”