The philosopher Albert Camus said that “a free Press can be good or bad, but, most certainly without freedom, the Press will never be anything but bad.” Proposals to bludgeon the media into accepting state-approved regulation should be rejected when the Government’s consultation ends next week.

This hangover from the Leveson Report, published four years ago, casts a dark shadow over a radically changed media environment. The print press is struggling to survive in the brave new world of online journalism. We’ve already lost two national titles from print, The Independent and its Sunday sister. Some others are struggling to find a sustainable funding model. Many local papers have already gone under.

At the same time, the rules of the game have shifted dramatically since the appalling phone-hacking scandal, which put the News of the World out of business and gave rise to two new self-regulating bodies for newspapers. The rules governing the contact politicians and advisers have with journalists have been overhauled, introducing greater transparency.

Journalists now have a whistle-blowing hotline, if they fear they are under pressure to engage in unethical behaviour. There have also been a string of criminal investigations and prosecutions. Whilst most journalists were cleared, there have been convictions for hacking as well as illicit payments between journalists and public servants.