Hugh Grant in Cannock: Hollywood star plans visit to support Labour candidate

The Hollywood star of Four Weddings and a Funeral and Love Actually will address a large crowd which is expected to gather in the town centre at 2pm on Tuesday.

The actor, 56, and Mr Dadge became friends when campaigning for press regulation reform group Hacked Off after the phone hacking scandal by national newspapers.

Hundreds of people are expected to flock around the bandstand in Market Place to get a glimpse of the millionaire celebrity.

It will be the second time Mr Grant has come to Staffordshire after he visited in May 2014 to help Mr Dadge unveil a new emergency car for Burntwood and Cannock Chase Community First Responders..

Mr Dadge joked: "Hugh is a Cannock-lad at heart and I am are sure there will be a big crowd of people looking to welcome him to his spiritual home."

Both men are opposed to Tory plans in the party's manifesto to scrap the second phase of the Leveson Inquiry into corruption and misconduct between the press and the police and proposals to axe legislation that, if enacted, would impose extra legal costs on newspaper groups if taken to court.

Mr Dadge, who is hoping to overturn Conservative incumbent Amanda Milling's 4,923 majority, said: "Both of us have worked together for a number of years for effective press regulation alongside Steve Coogan and ex-school teacher Christopher Jefferies who was demonised in the national media following the murder of Joanna Yeates in Bristol.

"The Conservatives have decided to pull the plug on the second part of the Leveson Inquiry and repeal laws which would bring better press regulation.

"I think a free press is important - and newspaper like the Express & Star play an important role in society and had nothing to do with hacking - but we need an effective regulator to keep the national press in line.

"So Hugh will be joining me to speak to voters about the consequences of this being in the Conservative's manifesto."

Mr Dadge, who grew up in Norton Canes, came to prominence after being photographed helping victims of the 7/7 Tube terror attack in London in 2005.

He and Mr Grant were victims of phone hacking by the News of the World.

The Conservative Party says that the second part of the Leveson is not needed following the first inquiry and several high-profile and costly investigations. It also argues - as do nearly all newspaper publishers - that Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act would impose unfair costs on media groups because they could end up paying the legal fees of both sides of a libel case even if they win.

The Express & Star is signed up to a new powerful watchdog, the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), which can levy fines of up to £1 million and demand front page corrections.

Cannock Chase swung to the Tories in 2010 and Ms Milling retained the seat for the Conservatives in 2015.