Civil Liberties

U.K. Press Regulation Stalls as Talks Collapse

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LONDON — Prime Minister David Cameron announced on Thursday that cross-party talks with other political leaders on regulating Britain's rambunctious press had broken down and that he would pursue his own proposal for a system of self-regulation after months of inquiries into the phone hacking scandal, mainly at Rupert Murdoch's tabloid newspapers here.

Mr. Cameron's abrupt move placed new strains on his relationship with the Liberal Democrats, the junior coalition partner with his Conservative Party, and raised the possibility that Liberal Democrats might end up voting with the Labour opposition against Mr. Cameron's proposal for a royal charter to underpin a new self-regulatory body.