US journalists write to tell Cameron: Your regulation of the Press is anti-democracy America's leading journalist have warned that Britain will lose 'moral authority' They warn Mr Cameron will encourage dictators to suppress their newspapers By Tim Shipman David Cameron has been urged to drop his plans to regulate the Press because they "run counter to bedrock principles of a democracy." Some of America's leading journalists have written to the Prime Minister saying he will encourage dictators around the world to suppress their newspapers unless he takes a "step back" from creating a new watchdog backed up by statute. Their letter warns that Britain will lose its "moral authority" to criticise authoritarianism elsewhere if it brings in a statutory response to the Leveson Inquiry into Press standards. Under fire: An association of some of the top journalists in the US has written to David Cameron, pictured, to urge him to rethink Press reform plans The Tories signed up to a deal thrashed out at 2.30am last month which will see a Royal Charter, underpinned by law, used to establish a new watchdog to police the Press regulator. Controversially, the deal was drawn up in the office of Labour leader Ed Miliband in the presence of four members of pressure group Hacked Off. Media organisations in the UK have warned that the plans, which will see papers that refuse to sign up threatened with punitive damages in court, are likely to be in breach of European law. Mr Cameron backs the plans but the Committee to Protect Journalists compares them to draconian rules in place in Eastern Europe. The letter, signed by the committee's executive director, Joel Simon, says: "Those news organisations that opt out of the mechanism face the prospect of "exemplary damages," a concept that reminds us of Hungary's unpalatable media law in its potential to foster self-censorship and chill investigative journalism." It says statutory under-pinning does "run counter to bedrock principles of a democracy." Powerful members: Arianna Huffington, left, founder of news website the Huffington Post and former CBS anchor Dan Rather, right, are on the board of the Committee to Protect Journalists It adds: 'It is the job of journalists to hold governments to account and thus ensure the full participation of citizens. A natural antagonism therefore exists between the press and those in power--but in some instances, governments seek to pass legislation to restrict the media and even criminalize investigative reporting. It would be highly regrettable if such leaders could point to the British parliament as precedent for introducing statutory media controls or regulations. The Committee to Protect Journalists The committee, based in New York, is an independent, non-profit organisation that promotes Press freedom worldwide. Its directors include senior figures from: the three main US television news networks ABC, NBC and CBS; The New York Times, The Washington Post and the Chicago Tribune; The New Yorker and The Nation magazines. Dan Rather, one of America's best known former news anchors and Arianna Huffington, founder of the Huffington Post, the American news website, sit on its board. Their letter warns that the "hasty" way the deal was thrashed out sends the "wrong message" to the rest of the world where dictators want to "rein in irksome reporters." It says: "Prime Minister, we urge you to take a step back from the current proposals, which do not take into account the implications for Press freedom beyond Fleet Street. Deal: Plans to reform regulation of the Press were thrashed out after Lord Leveson published his report into newspaper practice Online journalists and bloggers and those outside the London-based, national newspaper establishment need to have their voices heard too. The haste with which this deal has been put together leaves too many unanswered questions. Journalists, especially those working under authoritarian regimes, are watching and hoping that their colleagues in Britain can find a better solution than regulation anchored in law. Mr Cameron, we think that in the interests of global Press freedom, you should allow them the opportunity to do so. Many responsible journalists in Britain acknowledge the sins of Fleet Street, but most argue that these can be addressed through existing legislation. Use the criminal law to prosecute criminal behavior; make the civil law more accessible to the victims of unscrupulous newspapers; and do not try to impose standards of fairness and accuracy in newsrooms through statute. Last month the Daily Mail highlighted how the world's media has reacted with astonishment to the plans to shackle newspapers with state regulation. Even the Russians and Iranians scorned the plans. Newspapers in Moscow accused the UK of censorship while a state-owned Iranian TV channel announced: "The measure puts in danger freedom of expression and democracy."