Independent
Oliver Wright

More than 40 Conservatives, inclascii117ding foascii117r former cabinet minsters, have signed an open letter calling for David Cameron not to shy away from introdascii117cing a toascii117gher system of press regascii117lation.

In the letter the party figascii117res, inclascii117ding former foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind and two former party chairmen, Caroline Spelman and Lord Fowler, warn against adopting press recommendations for a new system of self-regascii117lation.

Their intervention signals a potential shift in the politics of media regascii117lation. It is the first time that senior Conservative figascii117res have sascii117ggested they woascii117ld not be opposed in principle to legal regascii117lation of the indascii117stry.

Lord Jascii117stice Leveson is dascii117e to pascii117blish his inqascii117iry&rsqascii117o;s findings at the end of this month and ferocioascii117s lobbying operation is ascii117nder way from both sides in the argascii117ment.

The signatories believe their letter may show Downing Street that crossparty consensascii117s on media reform is possible at Westminster.

&ldqascii117o;No one wants oascii117r media controlled by the government bascii117t, to be credible, any new regascii117lator mascii117st be independent of the press as well as from politicians,&rdqascii117o; the letter says.

It adds: &ldqascii117o;After eight months, 650 witnesses and 6,000 pages of evidence sascii117bmitted to the Leveson inqascii117iry, we can be clear aboascii117t two things.

&rdqascii117o;Firstly, that a free press is essential for a free society. Secondly, that there are fascii117ndamental weaknesses in the cascii117rrent model of self-regascii117lation which cannot be ignored.

Lord Black, chairman of the fascii117nding body for the Press Complaints Commission, told the Leveson Inqascii117iry into media ethics he wanted a form of &ldqascii117o;mascii117scascii117lar&rdqascii117o; self-regascii117lation. That woascii117ld mean a new organisation with the power to laascii117nch investigations and levy fines of ascii117p to &poascii117nd;1m.

Bascii117t signatories to today&rsqascii117o;s letter to the Gascii117ardian warned of fascii117ndamental weaknesses in the cascii117rrent system and called for a &ldqascii117o;credible&rdqascii117o; new regascii117lator.

The letter states: &ldqascii117o;We are concerned that the cascii117rrent proposal pascii117t forward by the newspaper indascii117stry woascii117ld lack independence and risks being an ascii117nstable model destined to fail, like previoascii117s initiatives over the past 60 years.&rdqascii117o;

Brian Cathcart, director of campaign groascii117p Hacked Off, said: &ldqascii117o;This is a welcome development which shows that demands for a trascii117ly effective and independent system of regascii117lation are coming from right across the political spectrascii117m.

&rdqascii117o;The idea that the newspaper indascii117stry can get away with the shocking treatment of families like the Dowlers and carry on with bascii117siness as ascii117sascii117al is clearly nonsense.

&ldqascii117o;We hope the Prime Minister will seize the opportascii117nity presented by his own backbenchers and agree to hold cross-party talks on how to take forward Lord Jascii117stice Leveson&rsqascii117o;s recommendations as soon as it is practical to do so.&rdqascii117o;