PA/GETTY Freedom of press is under threat from Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act

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A Government consultation on controversial plans to impose a state regulator on the media closes at 5pm on tuesday. Ministers are considering proposals to make newspapers pay their opponents’ legal costs in libel or privacy cases, even if the newspapers win. Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013 would make newspapers liable for both sides’ costs – unless they sign up to a state-approved regulator.

But the only regulator with formal approval from the Government-created Press Recognition Panel – Impress – is funded by anti-media campaigners.

Section 40 is akin to someone throwing a brick through your window – then billing you for not only the window but the brick, too Keith Harrison, Wolverhampton Express & Star

Impress is being backed by £3.8million guaranteed by the Alexander Mosley Charitable Trust. This was set up by former motor racing boss Max Mosley whose private life, including sadomasochistic orgies, was exposed by a newspaper. Only about 50 media outlets have signed up to Impress whereas more than 2,500 have joined the press-funded rival regulator the Independent Press Standards Organisation.

GETTY The act would see newspapers pay their opponent's legal fees in court cases

Tory Damian Collins, chairman of the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, warned the shake-up “could create a new industry of ambulance-chasing lawyers encouraging people to hire them on no-win, no-fee terms to take up complaints against the press. “These lawyers could set high fees and know that there would be a good chance of getting paid even if they lost the case”. He said the ability of the press to hold those in power to account was “one of the cornerstones of our democracy”. Pete Clifton, editor-in-chief of the Press Association, Britain’s national news agency, said the changes would have a “seriously chilling effect on freedom of expression of the national, regional and local media”.

PA Damian Collins warns of the dangerous effect this would have on the press

The proposal was introduced after the Leveson Report on press ethics. Media chiefs have branded Section 40 an attempt to “blackmail” the media into submitting to a Government regulator. Wolverhampton Express & Star editor Keith Harrison called Section 40 “dangerous lunacy”, adding: “Newspapers’ ability to investigate and publish everything from council bosses’ expenses to police cover-ups would be stripped back for fear of costly legal proceedings, even if the information was accurate and in the public interest. “Anyone with something to hide would know that even the threat of legal action would put doubt in the minds of newspaper editors up and down the land. “As such Section 40 is akin to someone throwing a brick through your window – then billing you for not only the window but the brick, too.”

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GETTY The proposal was a result of the Leveson Report on press ethics