The British government was today accused of capitulating to "media barons" after indicating it may abandon a measure to punish newspapers that refuse to join a government-approved press regulator.
Culture Secretary Karen Bradley announced consultation into whether to implement 2013 legislation that would force news organisations to pay all the costs of libel and privacy suits against them, even if they won.
The so-called Section 40 measure would only apply to groups that refuse to join a new press regulator, IMPRESS, that was introduced after the 2011 phone hacking scandal.
It was intended as an incentive to make sure newspapers signed up to the new system, but has been condemned as a threat to press freedom -- and failed to achieve its purpose.
Only around 50 organisations are members of IMPRESS, while around 2,500 have joined the unofficial IPSO regulator -- presenting the government with what Bradley admitted was "a dilemma".
"The government is determined that a balance is struck between press freedom and the freedom of the individual," she told parliament's lower House of Commons.
"Those who are treated improperly must seek redress. Likewise politicians must not seek to muzzle the press, or prevent it doing legitimate work such as holding us to account."
She added: "We have to make this work in this climate and with this situation."
But opposition Labour culture spokesman Tom Watson, who helped expose the practice of journalists intercepting public figures' voicemails, said the decision to reopen debate on the issue was "deeply regrettable".
"She opens up the executive to the suggestions that they have succumbed to the vested interest of media barons," he said, noting Prime Minister Theresa May's meeting with Rupert Murdoch last month.
The 10-week consultation will also look at whether to proceed with the second part of the judge-led Leveson Inquiry into press ethics and behaviour, which would examine any potential wrongdoing.
The first part of the inquiry, commissioned in 2011 after Murdoch closed his News of the World tabloid over hacking, recommended a complete overhaul of the system of press self-regulation.
Part two was intended to look at wrongdoing in the scandal, including the failure of initial police investigations to expose the problem.
Some argue this is no longer necessary given that subsequent criminal probes have led to a number of convictions.
The Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) is funded by the newspaper industry and critics say it will not be tough enough on Britain's sometimes unruly press.
However, critics of the government-backed regulator argue that the new system under which it operates will allow governments to erode press freedom.
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