A GOVERNMENT minister has spoken out in praise of local newspapers.

Referring to the Echo, he said "one type of news we cannot do without is public interest journalism".

"That is exactly what this paper, as well as hundreds like it across the UK, delivers on a daily basis," he said.

"Journalism is unique because its decline wouldn’t just have financial implications for the companies involved, but would have serious democratic costs too.

"Research has shown that people in areas with no local daily paper are less engaged with local elections, with less trust in local institutions.

"We mustn’t find in ten years’ time that trustworthy news sources have disappeared with our democracy damaged as a result."

Yesterday the Echo was able to reveal confidential documents from Bournemouth council which otherwise would likely have never made it into the public eye.

These showed that the borough had invested £49 million in borrowed cash from other authorities to buy the Mallard Road Retail Park expecting a rental income of £2.5m per year, from which it expected to draw some £600,000 in profit to contribute towards public services – as planned into the budget for 2019/20.

However, financial difficulties for major retailers mean the borough has been receiving £1m less than it had predicted, leading to questions over the riskiness of the venture.

Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright was speaking in the aftermath of the Cairncross Review into the future of "high quality journalism" in the UK.

The review recommended the establishment of an Institute for Public Interest News, further reviews into online advertising and social media and into competition between private news outlets and the state broadcaster the BBC. It also proposes doubling of the journalists funded through the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Mr Wright said: "I believe wholeheartedly that journalism should be accessible to as many people as possible and that the press industry can overcome its challenges. But everyone needs to play their part in ensuring the press has a sustainable future. And that includes local people supporting their local paper too."