TESSA JOWELL, the Culture Secretary, rejected calls from MPs yesterday to put newspapers under statutory controls, saying that any such restrictions would be unacceptable in a democratic society.

Ms Jowell slapped down members of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee when she appeared at its hearing into privacy and the performance of the Press Complaints Commission.

Michael Fabricant asked her how much longer the press would be allowed to drink in the “last chance saloon”. Mrs Jowell replied: “The Government is clear that for all its flaws the system of press self-regulation is very precious in our democracy. The Government has no role in the content of newspapers and does not intend to assume a role in the regulation of newspaper content. We do not meddle in the Press Complaints Commission and we have no locus to meddle in it.”

The MPs asked Ms Jowell why she would not introduce legislation to place the commission under the auspices of Ofcom, the new super-regulator, which will be responsible for broadcasting and radio. They asked her to introduce legislation to prosecute editors where newspapers had paid policemen for information or witnesses for stories.

Ms Jowell told MPs that such actions were already subject to criminal law and reminded MPs that the newspaper industry was fundamentally different from broadcasting, where licences were granted by the Government and neutrality was demanded in areas such as news.

She told the Conservative MP Adrian Flook: “Most days of the week all of us as parliamentarians read something we don’t like about ourselves or a policy we are responsible for. I can see why we can get worked up about it but the important thing is the protection of the wider public, not the protection of people like us.”

Putting government pressure on the commission would be the thin end of the wedge for press freedom, she said.

Ms Jowell rejected demands for a press ombudsman, an independent figure who would oversee the commission’s rulings and become a source of appeals. She said that this could be the first stage to state control over the press:

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