Labour and Lib Dems hold up Press regulation deal

Culture Secretary Maria Miller has indicated she hopes to address media concerns about the proposals with a revised charter by Friday but a source said there had been no breakthrough in the discussions.

Mrs Miller, her Labour counterpart Harriet Harman and Liberal Democrat Lord Wallace will continue their negotiations tomorrow, with the prospect of the original charter being put forward to the Privy Council if no changes can be agreed .

The Conservative source said: “Labour and the Liberal Democrats are very reluctant to make any changes that make the charter more workable for the industry.

“But we think we will convince them. We are confident that we will get there by Friday.”

The source said Labour and the Lib Dems had been “dragged to the table kicking and screaming” but with further talks scheduled there was hope of progress

If changes can be agreed the document will be published on Friday, before being put to the Privy Council at the end of the month.

However, if no cross-party agreement with is reached by Friday, Mrs Miller has indicated she will press ahead with the version of the charter agreed at a late-night meeting over pizzas in Westminster on March 18 in the presence of campaign group Hacked Off.

Earlier this week, Ministers rejected the industry’s proposals for a new system underpinned by a Royal Charter .

Sticking points included media opposition to a free arbitration service, which publishers fear could encourage frivolous complaints, as well as the industry’s desire to have representation on a new “recognition panel” to be created by the charter.

Under the cross-party plans, the job of adjudicating on complaints and imposing penalties will be performed by a new self-regulatory body set up by the industry to replace the Press Complaints Commission. The panel would be required to verify whether this watchdog was effective and genuinely independent of publishers.

However, it would be up to individual publishers to sign up to a regulator endorsed by the panel, and there is speculation that many or all of the major newspapers could opt out of the proposed system if it does not address their concerns over freedom from political interference.

Tory Mrs Miller has signalled that she is ready to give ground on two issues of concern to the press.

She is proposing to make provision for a fee for use of the arbitration service, which would be small enough to comply with Sir Brian’s recommendation of a “low-cost” facility but large enough to deter speculative claims.

It is thought the charge could be in line with fees for using the small claims court, which range between £35 and £685.

She also indicated that Conservatives are ready to accept the industry drawing up a code of conduct for editors, to be approved by the independent regulator.

Sir Brian Leveson, who chaired the inquiry into press standards and ethics, has insisted that he will not interfere in the stand-off between politicians and the newspapers over regulation reforms.

The judge said it would be “totally wrong” for him to comment on the controversy surrounding proposed changes which are based on his report last year.

Giving evidence to a House of Lords select committee he also hinted that a planned second part of his inquiry, dealing with phone hacking, may never happen.