The editor of Britain’s best-selling regional daily has warned that local newspapers face a “worrying future” if a law forcing them to pay both sides’ legal costs, even if they win in court, is enforced.

In a leader column to readers, Express & Star editor Keith Harrison said the implementation of Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013 would be a “dangerous lunacy”.

He asked readers to “speak up” for the paper that had been “proudly” speaking up for them since it was founded in 1874 by sharing their views with the public consultation on the Leveson Inquiry.