Cameron faces squeeze on press reform Many newspapers fear any move towards statutory underpinning would mark the beginnings of a 'slippery slop' away from a free press David Cameron is facing a three-way political squeeze to face down Britain's powerful newspaper lobby and agree to some form of statutory press regulation in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal. Ed Miliband, Labour leader, Nick Clegg, Liberal Democrat leader, and more than 40 Tory MPs and peers have this week, in effect, formed a coalition in favour of a tough response when Lord Justice Leveson produces his report into press standards, expected later this month. The pressure on Mr Cameron reflects a cross-party suspicion that the prime minister is buckling under pressure from newspapers, who back tougher independent regulation but without state underpinning. In a sign that Mr Cameron was starting to feel besieged, one ally of the prime minister said on Friday: "The PM set up the Leveson inquiry - it's his decision what he does with it." Some senior Conservatives are angry that Mr Clegg, deputy prime minister, appears to have found common ground with Labour on a robust approach to press regulation and believe he may be trying to pressure the prime minister. Mr Clegg, standing in for Mr Cameron at prime minister's question time this week, told Harriet Harman, Labour's deputy leader, that he wanted to work "on a cross-party basis where we can" in implementing the Leveson proposals. The intervention of Tory MPs and peers on Friday - in a letter to The Guardian newspaper - suggests that a cross-party majority was now taking shape to support the Leveson proposals on regulation provided it was, in the words of Mr Clegg, "workable and proportionate." Mr Cameron's aides say that while the prime minister does not exclude talks with other parties, the final decision rests with him. Lord Leveson is expected to recommend a big overhaul of press regulation but a fierce argument is under way about the nature of the new regime and whether it is grounded in law. Despite loud objections from much of the media, many commentators think Lord Justice Leveson is likely to opt for some form of statutory underpinning to press regulation. This could involve a new regulatory body being formally recognised in law. It might also include a legal requirement for newspapers to sign up to the body: a move that would amount to the licensing of newspapers for the first time, akin to how the broadcasting industry is regulated. Lord Leveson has faced strong resistance from many newspapers who fear that any move towards statutory underpinning would mark the beginnings of a "slippery slope" away from a free press, independent of state influence. A compromise - backed by some newspapers - has been proposed by Lord Hunt and Lord Black, who have proposed a new regulatory body, in which independent laymen would be in the majority. It would have greater powers than the discredited Press Complaints Commission and would enforce compliance with the editors" code of conduct, by fines if necessary. Newspapers would comply through voluntary contract, not under a legal requirement. Mr Cameron is torn on the issue and is urging all sides to wait to see exactly what Lord Leveson recommends. He also knows that he could face an even more hostile press, including from Tory papers such as the Daily Mail and The Daily Telegraph, if he ends up supporting some kind of legally binding regime. The prime minister has said that any new regulatory system "needs teeth" to address the suffering inflicted by a powerful press on the vulnerable, including the parents of Milly Dowler, the murdered teenager Milly Dowler and missing child Madeleine McCann. "It can't be self-regulation, it has to be independent regulation," he said in June, adding that the new regulatory framework needed to punish newspapers that were persistently breaching the rules. Without a legal basis, Downing Street fears that some newspapers would simply refuse to be bound by a new independent regulator, just as the newspapers of Richard Desmond's Northern & Shell, including the Daily Express, pulled out of the Press Complaints Commission. But Mr Cameron's team says he also recognises that once legislation is introduced to regulate the press it could be amended and distorted, resulting in "the law of unintended consequences." Leaders" demands for a better-working press David Cameron When the prime minister gave evidence to the Leveson inquiry, he said a system that failed to satisfy the family of victims such as Milly Dowler, the murdered schoolgirl, would not pass muster. "The status quo is not an option," he repeated last month. But he asked: "How do you get this balance right? We don't want heavy-handed state intervention. Nick Clegg The deputy prime minister may have likened the press to desperate animals "around a disappearing waterhole" in a speech in September, but he said this week he still wanted reforms that would maintain a "free, raucous, independent press." The Liberal Democrat leader is looking for "workable and proportionate" proposals from Leveson. Ed Miliband The Labour leader said Rupert Murdoch should be forced to sell some of his newspapers so that "no one organisation exerts an overweening power." Giving evidence to the inquiry, he suggested there should be a limit on ownership of between 20-30 per cent of the UK's news market. News International owns 34 per cent.