British MPs due to take crucial vote on press regulation

LONDON (AFP) - British MPs were on Monday to take a crucial vote on press regulation, with senior government members claiming a deal could still be brokered despite the breakdown of cross-party talks.

Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday abandoned discussions with Deputy PM Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrat junior coalition partners, and opposition Labour leader Ed Miliband.

Bringing the matter to a head, Conservative Party leader Cameron said lawmakers would vote on Monday on his proposals for a new newspaper watchdog.

Labour and the Lib Dems want statutory regulation as recommended by the Leveson Inquiry, which Cameron commissioned in 2011 after the voicemail hacking scandal at Rupert Murdoch's now defunct News of the World tabloid.