Sambrook defended in June/July 2003 what became the highly controversial Today programme report that the Blair government had in its September Dossier knowingly exaggerated claims relating to Iraq's supposed possession of weapons of mass destruction.
He is a frequent contributor to radio and TV coverage of media issues and writes regularly for The Conversation (website).
From 2010 until 2012, he was global vice chairman and chief content officer of the Edelman public relations agency.
From 2012 until 2018 he led the International News Safety Institute, for which he chaired an inquiry into the deaths of journalists around the world.
He was a trustee of the free-speech NGO Article 19 for six years and was a member of the leadership committee of the Global Media AIDS Initiative, established by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in 2004.