HARLOW MP Chris Vince has stood up for local news as part of a debate in the House of Commons.

The debate began after an urgent question from Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Nigel Huddlestone.

There is a great deal of work being done by the government as part of a Local Media Strategy.

There are many strands to it but a key component is the protection and promotion of local news.

Mr Vince said: ” I thank the Secretary of State for her response to this urgent question, and particularly for her emphasis on the importance online literacy, which, as a former teacher—Chris Vince bingo in full force today—I know to be really important.

“I pay tribute to Michael Casey, editor of Your Harlow, an online newspaper that prints tens of thousands of articles every year, and that filled the hole left by Harlow Star when it closed down.

I would like to build on the question from my hon. Friend Gordon McKee, who said that more and more people are using AI summaries to get their news, and are not relying on trusted sources. Is there not a danger that if we, and the AI companies, do not provide support to trusted sources, they will not be able to continue?

Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Lisa Nandy said: “I have been working with the publishing industry to make sure that we protect our trusted sources and do not allow higher-quality content to be undermined by AI summaries.

“It is a concern that we recognise and share, and we will bring forward proposals around that to the House.

“We have seen lots of very good-quality independent news providers spring up around the country, and it is great to hear about my hon. Friend’s local newspaper in Harlow, but there are too many local news deserts across our country. That is precisely what the local media strategy intends to address”.