An editor has urged parliamentarians to help get a “fair deal” for the regional press from technology companies.

Yorkshire Post editor James Mitchinson has told peers the industry is “not receiving anywhere near the level of revenue” it should be from tech platforms which host news content.

James, pictured, was giving evidence this week at a Lords Democracy and Digital Technologies Committee session on democracy and digital technologies.

He was speaking alongside Jessica Cecil, director of the BBC Online Project, and Matthew d’Ancona, editor and partner at Tortoise.

James told the committee: “To help us be that prosperous, thriving, free local press that is able to scrutinize local MPs for the long term future, our plea to this committee would be to ensure that the tech companies, the platforms, give us a fair deal for the content that they carry on their platforms.

“Because we are not receiving anywhere near the level of revenue that the hard work, the diligence, the professionalism, the training, the development, the time taken to produce that content merits.

“So, I would genuinely like to see the size of the revenue made by the tech platforms and then contemplate how we’d go about distributing that more fairly.”

He added: “There is acute, if not urgent, requirement for the tech platforms to distribute the revenue generated from the content that we produce more fairly and in a way that we can reinvest into our products.   That, for me, is the priority. That redistribution of the wealth generated by work done by people employed by the regional news.”

James also called for an end to the boycotting of news media outlets by the government and the blocking of journalists by MPs.

He said: “I don’t think it’s healthy for the government to boycott the Today programme on the BBC, and I think we all benefit from having long form, detailed scrutiny of politicians.

“We’re unable to ask constructive criticisms, well-meant questions, on behalf of the people who politicians represent.

“I think this is a good moment for this protracted war between the state and the media to come to an end, because I just don’t think it’s helpful.”