Labour chairman Charles Clarke will be chief guest and speaker at the Society of Editors' gala annual dinner during its York conference.

The controversial minister has been hitting the headlines for his plain speaking - not least for his criticism of the media.

The dinner will follow a reception among the exhibition of railway locomotives at the National Railway Museum and will be served on the former platforms that make the museum one of the top attractions in the north.

The event will top off a hectic day of debates that will now also include a session on payments to witnesses following the Lord Chancellor's "last chance" decision giving the industry opportunity to police the practice through self regulation rather than new laws. It is hoped that broadcasting regulators will join the discussions.

There will also be an extra session on saying 'sorry', where Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger and the paper's readers' editor Ian Mayes will describe the benefits of the 'Winning them Back' system of corrections and apologies.

Its success and potential to win the plaudits of readers is attracting interest from around the world, yet in the UK, editors seem reluctant to copy it.

BBC TV news chief Roger Mosey will join the session on 'Dumbing down' with Robert Thompson of The Times and Richard Tait who has just retired from ITN.

Jon Snow, anchorman of Channel 4 News, will chair the session on the Lessons of 2002 and media guru Jim Chisholm will introduce and chair the session on 'Bridging the Age Gap'.

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