Internet giants such as Google should pay compensation for news content to fund the journalism that generates huge advertising revenues for them, Europe’s major press agencies have said.

In a joint letter, nine organisations – including the Press Association – called for MEPs and European Union officials to back plans which would help tackle the “disaster for the news industry” which has seen media organisations lose advertising revenue while internet giants have benefited.

The agencies said while the likes of Facebook and Google – known collectively as the Duopoly – play a crucial role in spreading news, they only offer the work done by others and do not pay for the cost of reporting.