It is up to the prime minister whether to implement Lord Justice Leveson's proposals More than 80 MPs and peers have urged the man carrying out an inquiry into media standards not to recommend a press regulation law.The cross-party group, including eight former cabinet ministers and London Olympics supremo Lord Coe, says any such move would damage press freedom.
Lord Justice Leveson is due to publish his report on Thursday.
The group, which has written a letter to two newspapers, wants him to back a stronger "self-regulatory" system.
The Leveson Inquiry was established by the prime minister in July last year and looked into the culture, practices and ethics of the press.
It was commissioned following allegations of illegal phone-hacking at the News of the World.
'State licensing'Lord Justice Leveson was asked to produce a list of recommendations for a more effective policy and regulatory regime for the press, which would preserve its independence while encouraging higher ethical and professional standards.
It is widely expected to recommend some form of statutory regulation overseen by an independent body.
But the politicians, led by former Labour Home Secretary David Blunkett and Conservative MP Conor Burns, argue this could be detrimental to free speech, saying: "As parliamentarians, we believe in free speech and are opposed to the imposition of any form of statutory control even if it is dressed up as underpinning."They add: "No form of statutory regulation of the press would be possible without the imposition of state licensing - abolished in Britain in 1695. State licensing is inimical to any idea of press freedom and would radically alter the balance of our unwritten constitution.
"There are also serious concerns that statutory regulation of the print media may shift the balance to the digital platforms which, as recent events have shown through the fiasco of Newsnight-Twitter, would further undermine the position of properly moderated and edited print journalism."
The group - which includes Commons Culture Media and Sport Committee chairman John Whittingdale, Downton Abbey writer Lord Fellowes, former Commons Speaker Baroness Boothroyd and ex-cabinet ministers Lord Tebbit, Liam Fox, John Redwood and Peter Lilley - has written to the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph,
'Open-minded'It argues that the "press abuse chronicled at Leveson was almost wholly about actions which were against the law. It demonstrated not a sole failure of regulation but rather of law enforcement.
"However the status quo is not an option. We cannot countenance newspapers behaving as some have in the past. The solution is not new laws but a profound restructuring of the self-regulatory system."
David Blunkett co-wrote the letter with Conservative MP Conor Burns The letter concludes: "Public debate will necessarily follow publication of the Leveson report and will be needed to provide confidence in a rigorous tough new system of self-regulation. Such a debate will lead to a speedy way of establishing a new self-regulatory regime that can restore confidence in the press."
However, some campaigners say the current system of self-regulation, overseen by the Press Complaints Commission, is inadequate and that tougher rules are needed to curb newspapers' excesses.
Earlier this month, 42 Conservative MPs and peers wrote to the Guardian arguing in favour of some form of statutory underpinning for press regulation.
It is up to David Cameron to decide whether to implement Lord Justice Leveson's recommendations.
On Sunday Downing Street said the prime minister was "open-minded" about the future regulation of the press.
Previously he said he intended to implement the findings of the Leveson inquiry, provided they were not "bonkers".
Claims that News of the World journalists had hacked the voicemail of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler led to the closure of the Sunday tabloid and brought about the Leveson Inquiry.
The parents of Madeleine McCann, who went missing aged three on holiday in Portugal in 2007, were also among the alleged hacking victims.
The 87 politicians who have signed the letter are:
David Blunkett
Conor Burns
Stuart Andrew
Steve Baker
Lord Bell
Bob Blackman
Nick de Bois
Baroness Boothroyd
Peter Bottomley
Peter Bone
Graham Brady
Angie Bray
Julian Brazier
Andrew Bridgen
Conor Burns
Alun Cairns
Baroness Chalker
Bill Cash
Douglas Carswell
Lord Cavendish
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown
Lord Coe
Therese Coffey
Damian Collins
Earl Courtown
Tracey Crouch
David Davis
Glyn Davies
Philip Davies
Lord Dobbs
Brian Donohoe
Stephen Dorrell
Lord Eden
Lord Fellowes
Liam Fox
Frank Field
Lord Flight
Lord Forsyth
Mike Freer
Lord Glentoran
James Gray
Robert Halfon
John Hemming
Gordon Henderson
Kate Hoey
George Hollingbery
Lord Howell of Guildford
Margot James
Eleanor Laing
Phillip Lee
Peter Lilley
Pauline Latham
Julian Lewis
Karen Lumley
Jason McCartney
Karl McCartney
Stephen McPartland
Baroness Morris
David Morris
Stephen Mosley
Baroness Neville-Jones
Brooks Newmark
Lord Norton
Mark Pawsey
Christopher Pincher
Mark Reckless
John Redwood
Lord Renton
Lord Risby
Baroness Shephard
Lord Skelmersdale
Graham Stringer
Julian Smith
Gisela Stuart
Graham Stuart
Lord Swinfen
Lord Tebbit
Justin Tomlinson
Lord Trimble
The Lord True
Andrew Turner
Martin Vickers
Lord Wakeham
Heather Wheeler
John Whittingdale
Sarah Wollaston
Tim Yeo
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