The Government has promised to take a closer look at proposed reporting restrictions on inquests, which could be brought in as part of reforms to the coroner’s court service.

As part of the Draft Coroners Reform Bill journalists could be ordered not to report details which could identify the deceased in cases “where no public interest would be served”.

Editors have already voiced concerns, and in a consultation on the plans the media expressed strong views against the proposal for coroners to have the power to impose reporting restrictions requiring anonymity in sensitive cases, such as suicides and the deaths of children.

But many voluntary groups and individuals were equally strongly in favour of the proposal as a means to protect the privacy of bereaved families.

One of the fears of the press is that the powers could allow a coroner to prohibit publication of material which would identify parents or other relatives – or even friends – of the deceased.

Media organisations which responded to the consultation were the National Union of Journalists, The Newspaper Society, Press Complaints Commission, Society of Editors, the BBC and ITN.

They fear the regulations would chip away at press freedom and their right to report with clauses that include: “Coroners or their staff will not release details, including photographs, of specific cases to the media without the consent of the family.”

There are also worries on access to information, and whether coroners can insist on newspapers handing over their own documents or revealing sources.

Constitutional affairs minister Harriet Harman said: “I have consulted extensively on these provisions and the more detailed measures in the draft Bill.

“In addition to the traditional three month opportunity for written comments, I have held regional seminars for those who work in and who fund the service, I have had numerous smaller meetings with representative bodies, and groups from the voluntary sector who work with bereaved families, I have taken full account of the report from the Constitutional Affairs Select Committee (to which I responded on 7 November), and there has been the innovative public pre-legislative scrutiny session in Parliament with members of the public who had recently interacted with the coroner system.”

She confirmed that one of the issues on which the Government intended to have further discussions before the Bill was introduced in Parliament was reporting restrictions.

The Newspaper Society, which represents the regional newspaper industry, says there is no need for coroners to be given additional powers to restrict reporting, as coroners’ courts are already governed by the law of contempt.

And it says that the lack of any media rights to challenge identification bans in a formal way, in the draft bill, must be addressed.