Analysis: How the deal to end over 300 years of a 'free press' was done Shortly, Mr Clegg phoned Mr Miliband and said he wanted to meet later that day to try to agree a deal. Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg met for a final time in 10 Downing Street at 4pm on Sunday, for a final conversation before the start of talks with Labour. Mr Cameron wanted two minor changes to the agreement - to give regional journalists a bigger say over the running of the new system, and changes to the wording of a general purpose clause to cover the work of the regulator. There was also more work to be done on the level of damages and costs of media groups that agree the terms of the new regulatory framework. Mr Clegg got in touch with the Labour team who convened talks with the Hacked Off campaigning group, in an attempt to honour a pledge made when the phone hacking scandal broke that any deal had to be acceptable to phone hacking victims. Labour and the Lib Dems had wheeled out the big guns and cleared the decks for some serious negotiations. Mr Clegg was advised by his loyal chief of staff Jonny Oates and another special adviser Tim Colbourne. Along with Mr Miliband, stood Harriet Harman, the shadow Culture secretary, Rosie Winterton, shadow leader of the House of Commons and Lord Falconer, the former justice secretary, and a key adviser to Mr Miliband. Ayesha Haziraka, a former Department for Trade and Industry ministerial adviser who now works for Miss Harman, and Tim Livesey, Mr Miliband's chief of staff, were also in the room. Another six civil servants from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, who have been helping with the drafting of the Leveson legislation, were there. Four members of the Hacked Off campaign group, which have been campaigning for the introduction of the Leveson proposals, were also there: Brian Cathcart, former LibDem MP Evan Harris, Hugh Tomlinson QC and Martin Moore. The only notable absentee was Hugh Grant, the British Hollywood actor, who was mid-air on his way back to Los Angeles where he is due to start work on a new film. Mr Clegg left his team in Dover House, Whitehall at around 7pm to return to his home in Putney to put his children to bed, calling both Mr Cameron and Mr Miliband from his ministerial car. He arrived back in Whitehall just before 9pm, sitting down to a Domino's American hot pizza. He left his office shortly after to meet in Mr Miliband's office in the Norman Shaw offices next to the Houses of Parliament to start face to face talks. A single key sticking point about damages and costs remained before all three sides agreed that media firms would be given a grace period to sign up to the deal. By midnight, existing on a diet of chocolate digestives, KitKats, fruit salad and pizza, they were ready to speak to the Conservatives. Cabinet Office minister Oliver Letwin arrived with no political support, wearing mustard-yellow corduroy trousers. One Labour source said it was "embarrassing" that Mr Letwin appeared to be outgunned, with the support of only a handful of civil servants. A stone's throw away in Number 10 sat Mr Cameron, apparently still awake and unwilling to cross the road and enter the talks. Mr Miliband gave one of his side offices to Mr Letwin, with a phone so he could make calls to Prime Minister David Cameron who was said to be monitoring talks in 10 Downing Street. The talks broke up at 2.30am. Over in Downing Street, Mr Cameron retired to his bed less than an hour later, for two and a half hours" sleep before a conference call to discuss what had been agreed at the start of a new working week. Within hours Mr Cameron would be insisting to MPs that he had not brought in state regulation of the press, in the wake of the phone hacking scandal. But he admitted that two small piece of law would have to be agreed - governing and damages, and requiring at a vote of two thirds of MPs and peers to agree changes to the royal charter. For his critics, Mr Cameron had crossed the Rubicon of enshrining - in even a small way - a form of press regulation in law. The recriminations were about to begin.