Ministers to hold crunch talks as Labour Lords plot attack on free Press
MINISTERS are due to hold a last-ditch summit with opposition counterparts over part two of the Leveson Inquiry today.
The showdown comes as Labour peers attempt to force the Government to clamp down on crucial press freedoms.
The Tory manifesto pledged to scrap plans for Leveson 2 — a probe into the relationships between journalists and the police — and section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act.
The law would allow anyone to sue a newspaper on a whim, and have their legal bill paid by it even if they lost.
Ministers were due to announce the outcome of a consultation last month.
But they were delayed when judge Sir Brian Leveson announced he wanted to read newspaper submissions, despite previously claiming it was not for him to decide on press regulation.
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He is in discussions with Culture Secretary Karen Bradley and Home Secretary Amber Rudd. Later this week peers will put forward amendments to the Data Protection Bill which attack press freedoms.
The Government may be forced to offer concessions to Labour in a bid to head off a defeat.
A Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport spokesman said: “We will be publishing the Government’s response to the consultation once Sir Brian has provided his formal view.”
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