Update 15:21 — Eight government ministers have today been granted core participant status at the Leveson Inquiry, meaning they will have advance access to evidence and the right to seek redactions of other statements submitted. Lord Justice Leveson rejected the application by the government as a body, but granted individual CP status to David Cameron, Nick Clegg, Vince Cable, Ken Clarke, George Osborne, Theresa May, Jeremy Hunt and Michael Gove, who will be known as “government core participants“.

The coalition government will this afternoon make an application to be a core participant at the Leveson Inquiry, in a special hearing announced today.

If granted, this would mean that the government would have advance access to written statements and attachments submitted in module three of the Inquiry, which is examining relations between the press and politicians.

The Inquiry states that individual or an organisation can become a core participant if they are deemed by Lord Justice Leveson to meet one or more of the following criteria:

• the person played, or may have played, a direct and significant role in relation to the matters to which the inquiry relates;
• the person has a significant interest in an important aspect of those matters to which the inquiry relates; or
• the person may be subject to explicit or significant criticism during the inquiry proceedings or in its report

Those already granted CP status in module three include Guardian News and Media, Associated Newspapers and News International; the Metropolitan police; the National Union of Journalists, and former News International CEO Rebekah Brooks, who is scheduled to give evidence to the Inquiry next Friday. MPs including Tom Watson, Denis MacShane, Tessa Jowell and Chris Bryant have also been granted CP status.

Today’s hearing is scheduled to take place at 2pm.

Follow Index on Censorship’s coverage of the Leveson Inquiry on Twitter – @IndexLeveson