Lord Lester rallies supporters of Defamation Bill

Lord Lester has rallied supporters of the Defamation Bill, warning that if Lord Puttnam's amendment setting up a libel arbitration scheme succeeds next week, the bill could be lost.

Meanwhile, in a letter to The Times today, Conservative former cabinet minister Lord Fowler said he would table an amendment to the Puttnam scheme during the third reading of the bill on Monday to ensure that publishers did not have to 'obtain permission from a regulatory board before publication'. It is understood that Lord Puttnam will accept Lord Fowler's amendment.

Lord Lester, whose private member's bill paved the way for the Defamation Bill, took to the pages of the The Sun to warn that if the Puttnam amendment was passed, the prime minister could drop the bill.

The Liberal peer described Lord Puttnam's scheme as a 'draconian version' of the Leveson proposals.

'Free speech in this country is in grave danger of being stifled by party political gamesmanship,' Lord Lester said.

'The threat comes from politicians who have hijacked an attempt to reform our out-of-date, repressive libel law by clogging the Defamation Bill with wrecking amendments.'

Lord Lester said that among the benefits of the bill would be a serious harm test to exclude frivolous claims, 'user-friendly' defences of honest opinion, truth and qualified privilege, rules for the internet and the end to the presumption of trial by jury.

It was essential for the political parties and the press to agree how to implement Leveson, he said.

He added that killing the bill would be a 'huge mistake '“ burning the house to roast the pig. It would waste the best chance in 100 years to reform our libel law.'

Meanwhile Lord Fowler criticised his party's latest idea, revealed this week, of a Royal Charter to underpin the new press regulator.

The peer said parliament would not be able to approve or reject the terms of the charter, or the sums of money the government would spend on the scheme.