I said during my evidence to the Leveson inquiry last week that I didn't favour the proposal to use press cards as a way of compelling publishers to comply with a new form of regulation.
It amounts to a form of registration for journalists and is therefore inimical to press freedom. I was surprised when the Daily Mail's editor, Paul Dacre, first suggested the idea, and I know I'm not alone in objecting to it.
My understanding is that several national newspaper editors do not support the proposal. Neither does the National Union of Journalists, as its general secretary, Michelle Stanistreet, made clear in her evidence.
During her appearance before Leveson she also revealed that Richard Desmond's Northern & Shell was against the press card plan.
Today, Press Gazette has underlined that fact by reporting that Express Newspapers' editorial director, Paul Ashford, wrote to the UK Press Cards Authority (UKPCA) warning that the move would be a "serious breach of UK and EU competition law".
He said: "The loss of accredition for journalists working on Express Newspapers' titles would severely impinge on its ability to publish those titles."
Interestingly, his letter was dated on 6 July, which was three days before the chair of PressBof, Lord Black, told Leveson there was "very broad support" from publishers for its self-regulatory proposals - which includes accreditation of journalists through press cards as an "incentive" to join the system - "including from Northern & Shell."
However, reading between the lines of Black's submission and oral evidence, it is clear that the press card proposal is not set in stone. Secondly, it is also obvious that Northern & Shell are part of the process of consultation. It does not mean the company has signed up to the contract plan.
My hunch is that Dacre is way out on a limb with this particular idea. It just won't fly. Then again, other so-called incentives - including my own pet idea, to remove ABC and NRS auditing from publishers that refuse to "volunteer" - look to be against competition law too. The headache continues.
