IN THE last few weeks, the media industry has been calling on the public to help fight off new challenges to press freedom in the UK.

That's because an obscure piece of legislation could soon be used to impose crippling legal costs on newspapers and magazines in the wake of libel or privacy trials – even when what they print is the truth.

Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act could force newspapers like the Peeblesshire News to pay the costs incurred by both sides in a libel case, even if the newspaper wins and is able to demonstrate in court that what it reported was accurate and publication was in the public interest.

In other words, the freedom of the press and the public’s right to know – two of the cornerstones of modern democracy – are both under threat.

The UK Government is trying to force all newspapers to join Impress, a press regulator of its choice – one which was dreamed up by politicians, is backed by a Royal Charter and financed mainly by Max Mosley.

The vast majority of newspapers – including the Peeblesshire News – are already signed up to an independent regulator: IPSO, the Independent Press Standards Organisation.

Forcing newspapers to sign up to a regulator approved by politicians would fundamentally alter the balance of power between a free press and those the press exists to scrutinise. Most newspapers refuse to do so, believing it would be a step towards state regulation and censorship.

But if we don’t, the Government is threatening to introduce a ‘costs order’ in Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act.

That would mean that newspapers like the Peeblesshire News which continued to refuse to sign up to the Government-approved regulator could then be forced to pay all the legal costs for both sides in any libel or privacy action, even when they won the court case.

This would have a huge negative effect on newspapers’ ability to hold the powerful to account. We wouldn’t dare to expose corruption or wrongdoing in public office, even when we could prove them, for fear of massive legal bills.

Please respond to the Government’s consultation on implementing Section 40 by writing to your MP. Or you can simply respond by visiting the website set up at freethepress.co.uk with a simple submission form you can complete quickly and press Send.