Commons showdown over Press
curbs after cross-party talks fail

The Prime Minister faces the real prospect of defeat in a key Commons vote on Monday night after breaking off talks on the Government’s response to the Leveson report with his deputy Nick Clegg and Opposition leader Ed Miliband, and pushing ahead with his own plan for a Royal Charter to underpin self-regulation.

Both Mr Clegg and Mr Miliband attacked the Prime Minister for abandoning his previous cross-party approach, with the Labour leader describing it as “an historic mistake”. Campaigners denounced the move as “a shameless betrayal” of the victims of Press abuse.

But in a hastily-arranged press conference at Downing Street after talks broke down yesterday morning, Mr Cameron said it was “time to bring this to a head”.

Describing his Royal Charter as “the fastest possible way” to deliver “the toughest press regulation that this country has ever seen”, Mr Cameron appealed to Labour and the Lib Dems to support his plan in the Commons on Monday night.

“A Royal Charter would ensure the independent self-regulation that Lord Justice Leveson recommended, while simultaneously protecting the precious independence and freedom of the press,” Mr Cameron said.

His proposals would deliver an independent self-regulatory body which was able to enforce prominent apologies and million pound fines on errant newspapers, along with a standards code, a free arbitration service for victims and a speedy complaint-handling mechanism, he said.

Mr Cameron said it was important to act now because he wanted to unblock legislation, such as the Defamation Bill, which had been “hijacked” in Parliament over recent weeks by supporters of statutory press regulation, who have been inserting clauses to implement the Leveson recommendations.

With Labour firmly committed to implementing Leveson’s recommendations in full, the balance of power now rests with Nick Clegg and the Liberal Democrats.

Should they decide to back Labour and push for a harder line on regulation in the Commons next week, Mr Cameron faces certain defeat.

Mr Clegg said he would work “flat-out” over the next few days to build consensus with MPs from other parties on a “proper solution”.

“I was disappointed, and indeed surprised, that David Cameron has decided to walk away from cross-party talks, especially when they were making some real progress,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.

Finding a balance between effective regulation and a free Press “was always going to be a big task which requires everyone setting aside narrow self interest in order to work together – and that’s why I think it’s wrong to abandon cross-party talks,” he added.

The campaign group Hacked Off were outraged at the Prime Minister’s move, which it said “raises two fingers” to those who demanded reform in the wake of phone-hacking by the press.

Executive director Brian Cathcart said the PM had “chosen to throw his lot in with powerful national newspaper groups” and that his proposals would pave the way for a regulatory system little different from the much-criticised Press Complaints Commission.

But representatives of newspaper publishers including News International, Mail Group, Telegraph Group and Northern & Shell – as well as the Newspaper Society – issued a joint statement welcoming Mr Cameron’s initiative, and promising to have a new regulator up and running as soon as possible.

“We agree with the Prime Minister that matters cannot be allowed to drift on, and that we need now to deliver real change,” the statement said.