Labour backs away from press reforms after Prince Harry’s phone-hacking court victory

The party has made it clear that Keir Starmer had no intention of reviving the second stage of the Leveson inquiry

The Labour party has backed away from plans to impose new controls on the press in a move likely to spark fierce controversy inside the party after Prince Harry’s landmark victory in his phone-hacking case against the Daily Mirror.

Party sources made clear on Saturday that Keir Starmer was not intending to revive a second stage of the Leveson inquiry into press standards – abandoned by the Tories in 2018 – nor would Labour oppose current Conservative plans to weaken the press regulation regime in the media bill now going through parliament.