Regional press editors have told a Government inquiry that the Press Complaints Commission is working well.

They were interviewed by the Commons Media Select Committee, which is investigating privacy and self-regulation.

Ed Asquith, of the Wakefield Express, explained the regard with which newspapers held the PCC.

He said: "Amongst the batch of journalists being trained at regional levels it is drummed in to them that the PCC is very important.

"If we were called to account by the PCC it would be a great source of shame. It brings a great deal of accountability to us."

Manchester Evening News editor Paul Horrocks was asked about the presence of editors on the 16-strong watchdog - and whether non-press members were intimidated.

He told the committee: "When I joined I was wondering what the relationship would be like between the editors and the lay members.

"I wondered if editors have undue influence. That is definitely not the case. Lay members take the lead."

Daily Record editor Peter Cox told MPs that allegations that the press "buried away" apologies and corrections was simply "not borne out by fact".

And Peter Long, editor-in-chief of Celtic Newspapers, said it provided a lifeline of support for editors, particularly those on regional, local and weekly titles.

During the debate, backbench MP Clive Soley, who put a private member's bill on press intrusion before Parliament in 1992, said self-regulation did not work.

He said: "However you look at it, the PCC is a body set up by the press, for the press, to protect the interests of the press.

"I would rather have a self-regulatory body if it is possible, but I have to say the evidence of the years since the Second World War has been of abuse by the press, followed by an outcry, followed by retrenchment by the press."

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