The Guardian's editorial code

"A newspaper's primary office is the gathering of news. At the peril of its soul it must see that the supply is not tainted."

The most important currency of the Guardian is trust. This is as true today as when CP Scott marked the centenary of the founding of the paper with his famous essay on journalism in 1921.

The purpose of this code is, above all, to protect and foster the bond of trust between the paper and its readers, and therefore to protect the integrity of the paper and of the editorial content it carries.

As a set of guidelines, this will not form part of a journalist's contract of employment, nor will it form part, for either editorial management or journalists, of disciplinary, promotional or recruitment procedures. However, by observing the code, journalists working for the Guardian will be protecting not only the paper but also the independence, standing and reputation of themselves and their colleagues. It is important that freelances working for the Guardian also abide by these guidelines while on assignment for the paper.

· The Press Complaints Commission's code of conduct is available here.