Newspaper publishers have agreed to new rules governing the placement of Press Complaints Commission adjudications and the use of the public interest defence.

In an apparent bid to toughen up the system of self-regulation in the face of criticism from politicians and celebrities, two changes have been made to the Editors’ Code of Practice, which is enforced by the PCC.

The changes, announced by the Editors’ Code Committee yesterday, mean that from 1 January the Code will require editors who breach it to publish the PCC’s critical adjudication in full and with due prominence as agreed with the PCC’s director.

In addition, it will require editors who claim a breach of the Code was in the public interest to show not only that they had good reason to believe the public interest would be served, but how and with whom that was established at the time.

Committee chairman Paul Dacre, editor of the Daily Mail, said: “These changes are designed to ensure that the normal good practice followed in most newspaper offices in most cases becomes enshrined in the Code itself, and in doing so explodes some popular fallacies about press self-regulation.

“Last year we introduced a rule requiring editors running corrections to agree prominence with the PCC in advance. This has helped to kill the myth that they are routinely buried in the paper. Now we have brought the publication of critical adjudications more into line with that. It should dispose of another misconception.

“The public interest amendment underwrites the need for editors and senior executives to give proper consideration before they consciously decide to breach the Code – something that should never be done lightly.

“They should be ready to demonstrate they have observed this process. Most do it already. This measure should be a safeguard, not a burden.”

The Society of Editors is printing 40,000 wallet-size copies of the new Code, which will be distributed throughout the industry early in the New Year.