Ed Miliband has called for an independent review of newspaper regulation and practices following the News of the World phone hacking scandal.
The Labour leader said a review should take place once the police inquiry into phone hacking and any legal cases have been completed.
News International, owner of the paper, has apologised to eight victims and has set up a compensation fund to settle the damages claims.
In a statement last week, News International admitted liability and offered an unreserved apology to the public figures whose voicemails were eavesdropped.
Speaking to the Guardian, Miliband said police investigation was an immediate priority, but once completed, wider lessons needed to be learned.
He told the newspaper: "I think it is in the interests of protecting the reputation of the British press that these matters should not simply be left to rest, and lessons have to be learned."
The Labour leader said the Press Complaints Commission had not "covered itself in glory" but his instinct was to not call for government regulation.
"The press itself will want to look at how self-regulation can be made to work better because it clearly did not work very well in relation to these issues here," he said.
"It is not about government imposing this on the press, but I think the review needs to have some independence, both from government and from those involved in the day-to-day running of newspapers. I think that would help the industry.
"There has to be a sense that the future is not going to be like the past. Wider lessons have to be learned."
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