Digital Minister Margot James has said she fears solutions to save the local news industry from commercial challenges may come too late.

The MP for Stourbridge (pictured) said she worried in particular that investigative journalism is being left behind as editorial staff numbers decline and newsrooms focus on “trending” stories for clicks.

She told Gloucester-based business website Punchline that the Government has been working to halt the decline in the local press by trying to get a fairer deal for news publishers.