At last, a PM who sees this insidious threat

IT is one of the most insidious threats to British democracy.

But until Theresa May spoke up yesterday, no leader appeared to have noticed that since 2005, more than 200 newspapers – mainly local (though weaker nationals are also struggling) – have been driven to the wall by unregulated competition online.

This means increasing numbers of council meetings and court cases go unreported, leaving the public in the dark about decisions taken in their name, while fake news on the internet distorts debate.

Indeed, as Mrs May pointed out, this steady erosion of reliable sources of news and comment puts in danger our whole system of government, which depends on a well-informed electorate with access to a plurality of views.

This is why the Mail warmly welcomes the Prime Minister’s pledge to review the sustainability of our national and local Press, whose advertising revenues and expensively- researched content are increasingly siphoned off by tax-dodging foreign web giants.

The Mail apologises to readers if we seem preoccupied with our own industry. But this is a matter that concerns everyone who values democracy and the public’s right to know. David Cameron frankly hated the Conservative Press. But then he wasn’t really a Conservative. After his brutal regulatory attack on newspapers through the Leveson Inquiry – a cynical bid to deflect attention from his crass choice of a voicemail hacker as his communications director – we finally have a Prime Minister who grasps the gravity of what’s at stake.