The report said the Press Complaints Commission's (PCC) mandate over the phone-hacking case has "weakened its credibility" and "revealed major failings in its ways of operating".

It said the PCC needs to establish its independence from the British press industry and called for it to be more "transparent" about its funding.

IFJ's report follows the Commons culture, media and sport select committee's report, which condemned "collective amnesia" and "deliberate obfuscation" by News International witnesses giving evidence on phone hacking at the News Group newspaper.

The IFJ, which is compiled by Jean-Paul Marthoz, examined two inquiries conducted by the PCC and said that both were "wholly inadequate".