Downing Street was forced to defend its top spin doctor yesterday after he raised Leveson press reforms in a telephone call to the editor of a national newspaper about an unfavourable story it was planning to run.

Newspaper editors have been warned by David Cameron that they must act “urgently” to set up an independent press regulator.

David Cameron must back Lord Justice Leveson’s proposal for a new law to regulate the press by Christmas, Labour leader Ed Miliband has said.

A petition calling for the UK’s three main party leaders to bring in a new press watchdog backed by law has attracted more than 56,000 signatures since being launched by high profile victims of media intrusion yesterday.

Britain’s Liberal Democrats pledged to make sure legislation implementing the Leveson press regulation plan was drawn up “in good faith” in a further escalation of coalition tensions.

A major inquiry called for laws to underpin a tougher watchdog for Britain’s “outrageous” newspapers in a verdict that sets up prime minister David Cameron for a bruising political battle.

After an inquiry into press intrusion lasting more than year, Lord Justice Leveson today delivered a damning verdict on decades of “outrageous” behaviour by newspapers.

In the UK, the mother of Madeleine McCann has said that she hopes today's report by Lord Justice Leveson will mark the start of a new era for the Press.

Lord Justice Leveson condemned decades of “outrageous” behaviour by British newspapers today as he called for a new regulatory system backed by law.

Lord Justice Leveson called today for legislation to underpin a “genuinely independent and effective system of self-regulation” for the press.

British prime minister David Cameron warned the newspaper regulation system is unacceptable, as he received a key judicial report into the Rupert Murdoch phone-hacking scandal.

Pop music manager Louis Walsh yesterday received an apology and a €500,000 settlement from The Sun newspaper over a false story that he sexually assaulted a man in a Dublin nightclub.

Future regulation of the press should “err on the side of freedom”, British foreign secretary William Hague has warned, before Lord Justice Leveson’s eagerly anticipated reform proposals.

For the second time, British Prime Minister David Cameron has had to acknowledge that official reports on a tragedy were based on police or security force dishonesty.

The Sun was not acting in the public interest when it published embarrassing photographs of Prince Harry, Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt said today.

The closeness of David Cameron’s links to the Murdoch media empire were further exposed today when it was revealed Rebekah Brooks told him they were “definitely in this together”.

British leaders have no choice but to court powerful media barons such as Rupert Murdoch or risk savage press attacks which are “full on, full frontal, day in, day out”, former prime minister Tony Blair told an inquiry.

Britain's Justice Leveson today gave his strongest indication of the measures he believes are needed to tackle problems in the UK Press in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal.

Lord Justice Leveson defended his inquiry into media standards in the UK today and said he “was not in any way” seeking to challenge the right of Parliament to examine any of the issues his inquiry is covering.

David Cameron texted Rebekah Brooks telling her to “keep her head up” in the week that she resigned as chief executive of News International, it has been alleged.

In Britain, Prime Minister David Cameron's Government is coming under increasing pressure over its ties to Rupert Murdoch's media empire.

In the UK, Labour have called for Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt to resign following claims that he backed News Corporation’s bid to take over BSkyB and leaked inside information to the media giant.

A judge conducting an inquiry into press standards in Britain today praised a award-winning foreign correspondent killed in Syria.

Rupert Murdoch’s decision to launch a Sunday version of The Sun was denounced by politicians as “massively premature”.

The former wife of Paul McCartney never authorised former News of the World editor Piers Morgan, or anybody else, to listen to her voicemails, she told the inquiry into British press standards today.

AFTER weeks examining the illicit and underhanded practices of a sensation- hungry press, Britain’s media ethics inquiry shifted its gaze to celebrity magazine editors, who painted a kinder, gentler picture of their trade.

BARRY George stood trial for a second time for Jill Dando’s murder after the Court of Appeal decided his conviction was “unsafe”.

Two racist thugs who murdered black teenager Anthony Walker were jailed for life today for what their trial judge described a “poisonous” attack.

The racist killer of black teenager Anthony Walker is “horrified” at what he has done, a court heard today.

TWO relatives of a Premiership footballer are facing up to 30 years in jail after they were convicted of the racist murder of black teenager Anthony Walker.

The murder of black teenager Anthony Walker was racially motivated, trial judge Mr Justice Leveson said today.

The mother of murdered black teenager Anthony Walker said today she must forgive his killers.

A mother who claimed she was wrongly convicted of killing her two babies was freed by the British Court of Appeal today.

A 100-YEAR-OLD man was spared prison today despite admitting he cut the throat of his 87-year-old sick wife in what the judge said appeared to be “an act of love”.

A 100-year-old man was spared prison today after slitting his wife’s throat in what the judge said appeared to be an “act of love”.

FORMER US marine Toby Studabaker, who had sex with a 12-year-old British girl after “grooming” her on the internet, was jailed for four-and-a-half years yesterday.

Former US marine Toby Studabaker, who had sex with a 12-year-old British girl after “grooming” her on the internet, was jailed for four-and-a-half years today.

THE parents of two-year-old Ainlee Walker were behind bars yesterday after being convicted of her killing.

The murder conviction of Drogheda man James Hanratty, who was hanged 40 years ago protesting his innocence, was today upheld by the UK's Court of Appeal which ruled that DNA evidence established his guilt ‘‘beyond doubt’’.