David Cameron has suggested he is opposed to punishing all sections of the press for the bad behaviour of a minority, days before ministers are due to be given the findings of the phone hacking inquiry.
Lord Justice Leveson is expected to publish his report into press ethics next week.
Ministers ordered his inquiry at the height of public outcry after it emerged the News of the World had hacked the mobile phone of missing schoolgirl Milly Dowler.
It is expected to contain recommendations for greater regulation of the press, but it will be up to ministers whether to implement these or not.
The Prime Minister has been under pressure from both sides of the debate in recent weeks.
A number of Tory MPs have backed calls for statutory regulation of the press. But freedom of speech campaigners have argued that such a move would be bad for democracy.
Yesterday at Prime Ministers Questions, Mr Cameron was asked: "Does the PM agree that a free press is the cornerstone of a democracy and that any attempt to muzzle newspapers should be strenuously resisted?"
Mr Cameron told MPs that the issue was an "important point".
"The problems in the newspaper industry have not really been about regional and local titles that perform an important function in our democratic system," he said. "I think we all have to wait for the Leveson report and to study that carefully."
Another senior Tory also called for the protection of press freedom yesterday.
Boris Johnson, the London Mayor, was reported as telling MPs attending an awards ceremony organised by the Spectator political magazine "don't you think for one minute of regulating the press".
The comments came as victims of press abuses met Mr Cameron, Labour leader Ed Miliband and Liberal Democrat Deputy PM Nick Clegg.
The Hacked Off campaign group urged the party leaders to keep to their commitments to implement the recommendations of the Leveson Inquiry.
Among those attending the meeting was Kate McCann, whose daughter Madeleine went missing in Portugal in 2007.
l Education Secretary Michael Gove has taken a swipe at Lord Justice Leveson by suggesting he needs "lessons in freedom of speech". Mr Gove, a former journalist, compared Lord Justice Leveson with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism – which was behind the Newsnight investigation that led to Lord McAlpine being smeared.
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