A local newspaper editor has hit back at claims from the House of Lords that opposition to Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act is a “smokescreen”.

The Lords yesterday inflicted a second defeat on the Government over a version of section 40 which has been added to the Investigatory Powers Bill. This would mean that newspapers which are not part of a Royal Charter-backed press regulator would face paying both sides’ costs in phone-hacking legal claims, even if the claims prove to be bogus.

Backing the amendment, Lady Hollins said: “The local newspaper threat is a smokescreen. The protests are really coming from the big newspaper groups who own most of the regional papers and are effectively using them as newsprint shields.”