THE chairman of the new press self-regulation body that begins work today said he understands why some of its opponents have branded it "a fake" or "a sham".

Court of Appeal judge Sir Alan Moses said the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso) would deal with "the standards of the press and enforcing the editor's code" but would still allow "a wild, unruly press".

Sir Alan said he had been in contact with campaign group Hacked Off, which has branded Ipso "a sham". He said "I only lost my temper twice" but added he understood "the distress and frustration" of group supporters like Gerry and Kate McCann.

He said: "Of course they're angry, desperately angry, of course they don't trust Ipso and they regard it as a fake and I'm not at all surprised, but I want to show them that they're wrong."

The vast majority of newspapers have signed up to Ipso, which replaces the Press Complaints Commission (PCC). But Sir Alan, who as a High Court judge presided over the Soham murders trial in 2003, said he did not think their joining was "vital to its existence".

He said: "If you ask me would I like them to join? The answer is of course I would."

Sir Alan said he wanted Ipso, which is funded by the newspaper industry, to "act as properly and truly and genuinely as an accountable independent regulator".

He said the funding system was an "understandable concern" but "money has got to come from somewhere". He said: "The mere fact that you're the source of money doesn't mean to say you're in control."

Asked about Ipso's budget, he said his suspicion was it would "cost substantially more" than the PCC.

He said the regulator would never "prevent publication in advance", adding: "All that I'm saying is that of course I want a wild, unruly press. The last thing I want is a boring press".

He said: "Even if most of the time much of [the press]is dealing with trivia, just occasionally it isn't and it's worth not losing that."