Tories dismiss Labour Leveson plans

Shadow Culture Secretary Harriet Harman unveiled proposals that would put the Lord Chief Justice, head of the judiciary in England and Wales, in charge of overseeing a new self-regulatory
body.

The party’s six-clause Bill, which it says also enshrines freedom of the press into law, will be considered at cross-party talks on Thursday, according to Tory sources.

But the Government’s own attempt at drafting legislation, which Conservatives said would show
a law was unworkable, will also
be produced in time for the meeting.

A Tory source said: “This new draft Bill completely rejects the involvement of Ofcom. They have gone from accepting the report in full to rejecting one of the major recommendations.

“Not only have they u-turned, even they admit that their proposals are quite top line and don’t address the details.”