Leveson: the Royal Charter proposal

The Conservatives have put forward their proposal for a system of press regulation set up by a Royal Charter – an unusual constitutional device used here to avoid the need for statute

Their proposal represents a watering down of Lord Justice Leveson’s recommendations in several areas. Questions remain about how independent the resulting regulator would be, and whether the ‘slippery slope’ towards greater regulation is really avoided

Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Hacked Off, the campaign group for victims of press abuses, have all expressed concerns about the proposal. Negotiations between the three main parties will eventually produce a solution, but are ongoing