The Culture Secretary today vowed not to trample over “centuries” of a free press protecting British democracy.
Karen Bradley signalled she would not back draconian measures which it is feared could allow the Government to thwart investigative journalism.
Ms Bradley, who is consulting on the best way forward, told BBC radio: “I’m keen to make sure... victims of press intrusion can have access to justice.
"But also that we have a free press, that enables the press to do the job that they have done so fantastically over so many centuries, to keep the government to account and make sure we have the thriving democracy that we do have.”
The public consultation is considering whether to reopen the Leveson Inquiry and also whether to implement Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013.
If triggered, Section 40 would see newspapers and news websites which do not sign up to a state-recognised regulator forced to pay their own and their opponents’ legal costs in court cases brought against them, no matter the outcome.
Sir Alan Moses, the former Lord Justice of Appeal who heads the Independent Press Standards Organisation, warned against the punitive measures in today’s Standard.
He said some parliamentarians were pushing for newspapers to be overseen by a system of regulation recognised by a “state-sponsored” panel, rather than the voluntary Ipso model.
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