ALEX Salmond hopes to hold talks with opposition party leaders next week on plans to regulate the press in Scotland.
The First Minister wants to establish an implementation group, headed by a Court of Session judge, to consider Lord Justice Leveson's call for a new press regulator backed by legislation.
However, he is keen to achieve cross-party support before setting up the body, which would also consist of five non-politicians. It is understood he is hopeful talks could begin next week – despite opposition calls yesterday for him to step aside from the process.
Labour, the Tories and LibDems said the First Minister was compromised by comments in Lord Justice Leveson's report, which noted his "striking" readiness to lobby for Rupert Murdoch's proposed BSkyB takeover.
They were accused of petty party politicking by Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop. The row is not expected to stop talks taking place.
Mr Salmond has tentatively backed the Irish model of press regulation, where a legally recognised independent Press Council of Ireland policies a code of conduct for journalists.
It is made up of seven independent members and six drawn from the newspaper industry. Complaints are investigated by a Press Ombudsman, appointed by the Press Council.
Unlike Lord Justice Leveson's proposed system, which would make Government quango Ofcom responsible for monitoring the effectiveness of an independent Press regulator, the Press Council of Ireland has no overseeing body.
The parties are a long way from agreement on a Scots system of press regulation.
Labour have said they favour a UK-wide system based on Lord Justice Leveson's proposals. The Tories are opposed to any regulator being enshrined in law, fearing legislation could be used to curb press freedom in future.
Opposition parties yesterday claimed Mr Salmond should step aside and appoint a colleague to take forward the initial talks.
Lord Justice Leveson's report found Mr Salmond's offer to lobby UK ministers over Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB bid could have rendered the deal illegal.
However he did not contact ministers in the end and "cannot be criticised," the report said, as he should be "judged by what he did, as opposed to what he said he was prepared to do".
Labour MSP Patricia Ferguson said: "Mr Salmond's judgment in this entire scenario has been flawed and we think he should stand aside from this."
Scots Tory leader Ruth Davidson said: "In light of these remarks, I think it would be wise for the First Minister to take a step back from the process."
Willie Rennie, leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, said: "It is not clear how Mr Salmond is going to be able to convene a group to take forward the report given he has been so heavily criticised in the report."
But Ms Hyslop hit back: "I would ask the parties to move on from their personal dislike of Alex Salmond and get on with the job."
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