May it quickly fall apart

The Times has a summary here (£) of world media and other reaction to the all-party plan for a press watchdog here, able to impose hefty fines. Criticism and more criticism: from the Wall Street Journal; from Le Monde, Le Figaro and L'Express; El País and Die Welt; the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists and Sri Lanka's Centre for Policy Alternatives; the former Commonwealth general secretary; the Canadian Civil Liberties Association; the South African Press Association; the Economist. What do they all say? Dangerous experiment, black day, serious restriction of democratic rights, beginning of a long downward spiral. In general, bad news. It's enough to make a citizen of this country feel embarrassed or worse.