Lord Puttnam's warnings were echoed by, among others, Tory ex-cabinet minister and former Midland Independent Newspapers chairman Lord Fowler, former BBC director-general crossbencher Lord Birt, and two former Guardian Media Group chairmen, Labour peers Lord Myners and Lord Gavron.
Some broadsheet editors, such as Andrew Marr of the Independent and Alan Rusbridger of the Guardian, accept the Lord Chancellor's argument that press freedom would be better protected by carefully considered parliamentary legislation rather than by random court decisions.
In an interview with the Guardian, Sir Malcolm accused Lord Lawson of wanting to place Britain in the "humiliating" position of being subject to EU rules but having no say in how they are made.