Self regulation of the press is not perfect but is better than the alternatives, MPs have been told.

In its submission to the Commons culture media and sport select committee inquiry into the issue, the Press Complaints Commission said it was proving increasingly effective and dealing with the key issue of privacy and media intrusion.

The PCC said there was a "clear case for press self regulation".

The submission conceded that the existing regulatory system is "not perfect and that it can always seek to improve" but defended it as the best available option.

"The alternatives to the PCC are impractical and undesirable. Statutory controls would be impossible to implement under the Human Rights Act, and privacy laws would be inaccessible to ordinary people," said the 280-page submission.

Professor Robert Pinker, the PCC acting chairman, urged MPs to accept the arguments put forward in the report.

"Not only does it categorically lay to rest many of the myths about the work of the Commission, it also sets out everything we do to serve the public," he said.

"Above all, it sets out in a clear and accountable fashion how we have fulfilled in abundance the mission set us by the Calcutt Report of 1990 - to become a swift and effective dispute resolution body for individuals with a grievance about a newspaper or magazine."

The evidence to MPs said that the PCC had high levels of satisfaction, had helped to raise the accuracy of reporting and had developed privacy jurisprudence backed by the courts.

Members of the public were also becoming increasingly aware of the complaints procedure, it added.