Monday, March 18, 2013
UK Press regulation deal 'very close'
A deal between Britain's political parties on measures to regulate the press is "very close", Downing Street sources have said.
Efforts have stalled on the extent to which a new self-regulatory body should be underpinned by a law but talks have been continuing through the night.
Labour sources confirmed the possible deal is based on their idea for a royal charter backed by legislation.
MPs were due to vote on the terms of the new watchdog.
Lib Dem leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Labour leader Ed Miliband have said they want a new watchdog to be backed by a law, while the Prime Minister David Cameron was opposed to this.
Mr Cameron, who was facing a potential defeat in the Commons, met Mr Clegg on Sunday as part of a last-ditch attempt to reach a deal ahead of the vote.
It is understood that later discussions lasting for about five-and-half hours and ending at about 02:30 GMT took place between Mr Clegg, Mr Miliband, shadow culture secretary Harriet Harman and Cabinet Office minister Oliver Letwin.
The prime minister was not present but was kept informed of progress.
Labour sources said they were "confident" the reopened talks at Mr Miliband's office had secured the basis of an agreement, to be announced in the Commons later.
Lord Justice Leveson's inquiry into press ethics in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal had called for a new, independent regulator backed by legislation, prompting months of political wrangling.Rival plans
On Thursday, the prime minister called time on cross-party talks on reforms and instead published his proposals to establish a tougher press regulator.
BBC
Labels:
Persecution
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment