I never thought I’d see the day when a former Guardian editor says we should be relaxed about the prospect of Rupert Murdoch taking over Independent Television News (ITN) and the end of impartiality on British television news. But that’s exactly what Peter Preston argues in his column in the paper today.

The comments were prompted by the news that Murdoch has bought an 18% stake in ITV, almost certainly to scupper the ill-conceived bid from NTL.

The success of BSkyB has increased Murdoch’s already enormous influence over the British media. The failure of politicians to restrict media ownership has been a major failure of democracy over the last 25 years, starting with the Thatcher government’s refusal to refer Murdoch’s bid for The Times and Sunday Times to the competition authorities in 1981. Preston appears to have given up the fight.

In this context, the requirement for broadcasters to maintain impartiality has been a crucial defence against media attempts to distort the democratic process. Most of Britain’s print media has a built-in bias in favour of free-market capitalism and right of centre politics. Neil Kinnock was savagely attacked and pilloried by most of the national press during his nine years as Labour leader. Tony Blair has largely escaped the same fate simply because he has attempted to out-Maggie the iron lady.

It cannot be right to contemplate dismantling one of the few structures of media regulation that have enhanced our democracy.