To ask the Secretary of State for National Heritage what steps he intends to take to protect a free press.

In deciding our response to the recommendations of Sir David Calcutt and the National Heritage Select Committee on press self-regulation, we shall be guided by our commitment to freedom of the press, which is a cornerstone of our democracy.

Does the Minister agree that it is something of a paradox that we have more television stations, more newspapers and thicker newspapers, yet they appear to be in the ownership of fewer and fewer hands? Should not the Minister be wary about the freedom of the press in Britain after the experience of self-censorship of those people who worked for the Mirror Newspaper Group during Maxwell's days? Should he not cite as an example the Scott trust, which was supposedly a good thing but which has used the Manchester Evening News and The Guardian to increase its share of newspaper ownership in Greater Manchester?

It is perfectly valid to talk about concentration of media ownership, but that is a slightly different issue from the freedom of the press to comment on events, people and activities. As I have just said, that is the cornerstone of our democracy.