THE Tory-LibDem Coalition's controversial press regulation plans have been delayed, Downing St confirmed last night.
Number 10 said the proposals had been put back to allow an alternative scheme put forward by the industry to be considered.
The announcement comes just days after an opinion poll showed the vast majority of people did not want politicians involved in supervising the press.
A number of newspapers have protested against the plans, which would include a Royal Charter, warning that they could be used in future to inhibit press freedom.
There has also been controversy that the proposals were signed off by a cross-party group at a 3am meeting attended by the lobby group Hacked Off.
The Coalition Government had been due to present its regulation plans to the Privy Council, the group which advises the Queen, and which has to sign off on the creation of a new Royal Charter, later this month.
However, Downing Street said that it "made sense" for the Privy Council to consider both versions at the same time.
The alternative version – which is backed by most national, regional and local newspapers – is currently open for comment on the Privy Council website until May 23.
The industry argues its proposals would meet the recommendations of the Leveson Inquiry into phone hacking while precluding future political involvement.
Last night Scottish Conservative Leader Ruth Davidson welcomed the move. She said: "This is a very welcome decision and is exactly what we argued for this week.
"Any system of self-regulation must have the support of those being regulated, otherwise it is simply state regulation.
"The proposals from the Government and the newspaper industry are not far apart and I'm confident a sensible, workable system can be agreed."
Earlier this week a poll showed 67% of respondents believed "the new press regulation system should be set up in a way that does not give politicians the final say if and when changes need to be made".
Only 16% backed the Coalition's plan to create a regulatory framework using a Royal Charter.
MSPs also voted unanimously this week to extend the Government's Royal Charter to Scotland, creating a UK-wide system of regulation if it gets the go-ahead.
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