David Cameron should reject both press charters and opt for an ombudsman

Politicians and newspapers are wrong to accept Leveson as holy writ and both their proposed systems threaten free speech

What is the reading public to make of the Mexican stand-off between politicians and the press? Each has produced a royal charter to regulate the behaviour of journalists, which threaten up to £1m in fines and even more in "exemplary damages" with forced front-page apologies for breaches of taste or privacy. Both claim to implement the recommendations of Lord Justice Leveson one by law, the other by industry agreement. But both threaten free speech and neither will encourage the adventurous investigative journalism needed to expose the corruption and hypocrisy of the powerful.