The Press Association is proposing to move its sub-editing operation from London to Howden in East Yorkshire.

The news agency says it has begun a consultation period with staff regarding a proposed relocation of four copy-editing posts, which would see all of its main wire subbing done from Howden.

The move would mean all production is done in Howden while reporting is done from PA's London office, where the main newswire is controlled and the newsdesk, reporters and specialist correspondents are based.

At Howden staff produce the regional newswire, the community newswire, Teletext news and finance, digital packages and news page-ready.

A statement from PA said: "Since the opening of the Howden Operations Centre in 2003, The Press Association has been working towards creating a multi-skilled production unit capable of producing the full range of PA services.

"Staff in Howden have increasingly edited and transmitted the main wire and this proposal would complete this process, transferring all remaining main wire subbing to this multi-skilled team."

In London, the news agency proposes creating an enhanced team of news editors to direct main wire file management, including retaining some copy-editing functions.

The desk in London will retain control of the main wire file as well as directing the news agenda, deploying staff and working closely with the photography and multimedia departments.