A FREE press is one of the cornerstones of our democracy.
Without it, the mad, bad and downright dishonest would get away with murder.
However, what we’ve taken for granted for generations is now under threat from an obscure clause that, while on the statute book, has yet to be enacted.
I hope it never is.
In essence, it would force newspapers and media firms to pay the legal costs of anyone bringing a libel action, even if the paper wins the case.
This could potentially sign the death knell of papers like this one, which might not have the financial clout to pay exemplary damages.
The logical conclusion must be that papers would not risk exposes for fear of ruin.
These new rules are the result of the Leveson Inquiry and apply if newspapers and media firms don’t sign up to the recently approved regulator, Impress.
Astonishingly, this organization is funded by Max Mosley, who had a run-in with the News of the World after they revealed his private life.
There’s no doubt that everyone is entitled to a private life, but my concern is that this regulator is driven by a desire to muzzle free speech.
More than 90 per cent of news outlets in this country have voluntarily signed up to the Independent Press Standards Organization, which can levy large fines and exact apologies.
There are those who argue that isn’t good enough and that the press have failed the self-regulation test.
The phone-hacking scandal dug deep into the British conscience and sense of fair play, and rightly so.
But phone-hacking is illegal and the guilty were jailed.
Today, more than ever, we need a strong and free press, free from political interference or control.