MPs unite against relaxation of regional newspaper ownership rules

The move will come as a blow to regional publishers such as Trinity Mirror and Johnston Press, which believe the current ownership rules are obsolete. The rules are being reviewed by the Office of Fair Trading, as part of Communications Minister Lord Carter's Digital Britain work.

The early day motion, under the name of John McDonnell, the Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington, slams proposals to relax ownership rules and encourage consolidation,

It says: "Government action in this area must focus on supporting local journalism, not simply propping up companies that have extracted millions of pounds from their business, while cutting investment in editorial resources."

The MPs have called on the Government to "explore innovative solutions to preserve local journalism and to ensure that state support, either in the form of deregulatory measures or financial help, is given only where firm guarantees on investment in local journalism are secured."

The motion highlights the high executive pay at regional newspapers, which, it claims, has contributed to the industry's current woes, leading to the closure of "a plethora of local newspapers".

Most of the signatories are Labour MPs, including Gerald Kaufman and Keith Vaz, but the motion has received cross-party support

Earlier this year, the chief executives of the leading regional and local newspaper groups formed an alliance in the hope of pressuring for a relaxation of the rules governing ownership.

The Local Media Alliance, set up in January and chaired by Johnston Press former chairman Roger Parry, is made up of the seven chief executives of the newspaper groups that control 72% of the UK regional newspaper market.