Labour is heading for a potentially bruising clash with UK news publishers over a controversial piece of post-Leveson press regulation.
Shadow ministers are set to incur the wrath of some of Britain’s most powerful press bosses, including Rupert Murdoch, by opposing the repeal of a rule designed to force news publishers to sign up to the government-backed regulator.
The rule, section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act, means any news organisation that has not signed up to the regulator will have to pay the legal costs of any libel trial they face, even if found not guilty.
Section 40 has never been imposed, but the government is planning to repeal it in the forthcoming media bill. Labour’s decision to oppose this will set it against almost every national news organisation and threatens to reopen the rift between the party and the press caused by the Leveson inquiry a decade ago.
A Labour spokesperson said: “The government is wrong to muddy the waters with a debate about repealing section 40, which is unnecessary as it has never been enacted and so repeal will not make any substantive difference.
“The press play an important and valued role in our democracy and face many threats due to disinformation and misinformation. We need trusted journalism more than ever. It’s right that the press is held to the highest standards and are accountable for their reporting.”
A Labour source added: “We know this will trigger a fight with the press, but it has been Labour policy for years to...
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