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The shadow culture secretary, Harriet Harman, will on Monday put pressure on the government over the Leveson report into press standards by suggesting Labour will push for a parliamentary vote on the proposals in the next few weeks.
She will also reveal that Labour remains unpersuaded by government proposals for a body set up by royal charter to police an industry-led system of press regulation. She wants the government to publish its proposals so they can be scrutinised by the public.
She will outline her case in a speech at the Oxford media conference, which will be the first time Labour has lifted the lid on the all-party talks on Leveson.
Her tone suggests that the government has failed to create a cross-party consensus on press regulation.
Labour opposes a royal charter, but is divided over whether this is the best that is likely to emerge from the talks, and whether pressing for a stronger statute will backfire, with the loss of Liberal Democrat and Conservative support.
Harman will say: "The public must be able to scrutinise the proposals. And parliament – to whom Lord Justice Leveson trusted a key role in setting up the new system – must be able to decide.
"That's why we will ensure that this will come back to parliament – with, if necessary, a debate and vote on one of our opposition days in February."
The private cross-party talks have been under way for weeks with Labour pressing for a bill to set up an organisation to police a press regulatory body, in line with the Leveson report, and the government pushing an alternative regulatory body underpinned by a royal charter.
Oliver Letwin, David Cameron's policy fixer, came up with the idea of a royal charter as a way of avoiding the introduction of statute to oversee the press.
Harman will say: "The most straightforward way of implementing Leveson is to have a single statute. And indeed we have drafted and published one. Hacked Off have drafted and published one and the government have drafted two which we have discussed in the talks, but have yet to publish them."
She will add: "While the statutory route is straightforward the royal charter route is anything but. It is untried and untested and we are unpersuaded that it can do the job that Leveson proposes.
"Government has never before sought to legislate through a royal charter rather than through a bill in parliament. It is as yet unclear how the body established by charter could be funded.
Reflecting the Labour position in the private cross-party talks, Harman argues: "It would clearly need statute to stop ministers at some future event toughening or weakening its provisions by edict of the privy council. There would need to be statute to provide for the exemplary damages regime which would incentivise newspapers to join the self-regulator.
"Perhaps the most fundamental issue is whether the recognition body established by royal charter would survive any legal challenge."
She will challenge the government to publish its royal charter proposals and accompanying draft clauses without delay.
She will explain: "While they have shared them with us in the talks, and with the newspaper industry, most MPs, peers, lawyers and others with an interest have yet to see them. Now they need to publish their charter and let it be subjected to public scrutiny."
Harman suggests that Labour is not going to allow the talks continue indefinitely without a conclusion.
Previously, Labour leader Ed Miliband said he would use a Labour-staged debate before January to vote on Leveson, but the existence of the all-party talks has seen that deadline slip.
Harman will explain: "As we entered the cross-party talks, we set the government a deadline of the end of January to publish Leveson-compliant measures.
"We have had useful cross-party talks but it is now time for the government to have the courage of its convictions. We have – and have drafted and published our bill.
And while the talks have been useful and will continue, the elephant in the room – statute alone or statute and charter – must be discussed openly and agreed on by parliament.
She will add: "Evan Harris from Hacked Off, the campaign that has represented victims of press intrusion, said his group had sent detailed criticisms of the royal charter to government weeks ago, but had received no response. So far as we understand it Labour and the Liberal Democrats remain sceptical of the royal charter.
"We have published our proposals and are consulting on them until 15 February. We remain of the view that the Commons has got to decide on this issue soon."
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