The writer Salman Rushdie has announced his backing for Hacked Off, the campaign for an independent press regulator underpinned by statute, in line with Lord Justice Leveson's recommendations.

Rushdie signed the Hacked Off petition on Wednesday evening, encouraging his followers on Twitter to join in supporting the campaign, which represents victims of phone hacking and other forms of press intrusion.

Professor Brian Cathcart, Director of Hacked Off, said:

I warmly welcome Salman Rushdie's endorsement. Hacked Off stands for a free and accountable press and if there is one man who embodies the importance of free speech it is Salman.

Like the other 142,000 signatories, he sees the necessity of a proper recognition body for the new press regulator, as described by Lord Justice Leveson.

Salman's decision to back the campaign for a regulator who is truly independent of government, politics and the newspapers is a characteristically brave move. He is once again standing up for freedom in the public interest, in the face of bullying and intimidation from powerful forces.