The Prime Minister has praised the regional press as a "force for good" as he addressed a Downing Street reception attended by the Daily Echo.

Sir Keir Starmer was speaking to regional journalists, including Echo editor Ben Fishwick, at Downing Street on Monday.

His address comes less than a week after the King praised the regional press ahead of a Buckingham Palace reception saying it "shines a light in dark corners, exposing injustice and wrongdoing".

Sir Keir said: "Nobody knows your local areas and issues in the way that you do.

"I don't think there's any other sort of media outlets, interrogators, interviewers who can put the questions in the way that you do because you understand what's happening on your patch the way nobody else does.

"It's such a force for good, and I think respected by millions, and I strongly feel people go to their local regional media as a trusted source in a way that they don't quite believe they can get to a trusted source elsewhere."

READ MORE: King praises regional journalists as Daily Echo attends Buckingham Palace

The Prime Minister also recognised the reach of regional media online and in print, and emphasised the importance of holding the government to account.

He said: "The reach of local regional media is going up so there is a good news story here, but the pressure is huge and the challenges coming up at the same time.

"But it is important that you keep holding us to account."

Ben Fishwick, editor of the Southern Daily Echo, said: "It was great to hear the Prime Minister reinforce the message from the King just last week - that the regional press is a 'force for good.'

"Every day journalists at the Echo work hard to cover stories across Southampton and tell stories that would otherwise go unheard, whether that be in the courts or elsewhere."

Sir Keir also made reference to devolution - saying the Labour Government is "pushing power" out of Westminster.

He said: "I do not believe that people in Westminster can make the best decisions about communities across the United Kingdom because the best decisions are nearly always made by those with skin in the game, and we need to have the courage, therefore, to push power out and deliver our Plan for Change, rebuilding our country and to restore people’s trust in politics."