Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

Labour could force vote on draft Leveson bill

Labour will discuss its draft Leveson Bill with the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats at the next tranche of cross-party talks on Thursday. The Bill (which you can read here) is short and sweet, replacing Ofcom as the regulatory backstop recommended by Leveson with a panel headed by the Lord Chief Justice, and a press regulator called the Press Standards Trust.

The party hopes to use the Bill as the basis of discussion for Thursday’s talks, and has sent it to Culture Secretary Maria Miller, as well as Tory MPs who are spearheading calls within their party for statutory underpinning of press regulation including George Eustice, and Lord Wallace, who has been attending the cross-party talks on behalf of the Liberal Democrats.

Ed Miliband has also held talks with Nick Clegg about the draft legislation, although sources close to the Lib Dem leader stressed that this was not dissimilar to the discussions Clegg has been having with the Prime Minister about the future of press regulation.

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