Conservative leader William Hague is to head a major debate on freedom of information at a high-profile gathering of some of Britain's top newspaper editors in Bradford.

Mr Hague is the keynote speaker at the conference of editors which takes place at the National Museum of Photography, Film & Television on Wednesday and Thursday next week.

More than 100 editors from England's biggest regional newspaper publisher, Newsquest - owners of the Telegraph & Argus - will gather in the city, along with other senior executives from throughout the country.

The event will also be attended by senior figures from Newsquest's United States parent company Gannett, including the Chairman and Chief Executive, John Curley, and other distinguished guests from both within and outside the newspaper industry.

Freedom of Information is the theme of the conference and leading speakers include:

Elizabeth France, the national Data Protection Commissioner and the Labour government's chosen appointee to the role of Information Commissioner, which will be created following the implementation of the Freedom of Information Act;

Bob Satchwell, national director of the Society of Editors, the body which represents both national and regional editors in newspapers, radio and television and whose members include almost all of Britain's national newspaper editors; and

Brian Gallagher, the Pulitzer-prize nominated Senior Editor of USA Today and a Freedom of Information campaigner in the US of more than 30 years standing.

The conference is being sponsored by 2020 Vision, the 20-year strategy being pursued for Bradford and district under the control of Bradford Congress. The organisation is made up of private and public bodies, including Bradford Council, West Yorkshire Police, the health authority and Bradford Chamber of Commerce, all of whom have a key role to play in developing the district.

The Newsquest Media Group owns 287 newspapers throughout the country and employs more than 8,300 full-time staff - including almost 2,000 journalists - and well over 20,000 part-time people.

It is also a leading digital media pioneer and, corporately, its websites - including the Fish4 consortium - are in the top 100 most-visited sites of all kinds in Britain.

Newsquest is the British arm of Gannett, the biggest newspaper publisher in the United States and one of the largest media companies in the world. In the US, it owns 74 daily newspapers (and countless weekly and Sunday publications) as well as 21 cable television stations.

Its flagship title is the USA's biggest national daily newspaper, USA Today.

Other speakers at the conference include senior editorial figures from around the country and topics include matters as diverse as community involvement, training and the growth of the internet.

The event also includes the Newsquest group's annual editorial awards, which this year are being sponsored by Yorkshire Water.

Perry Austin-Clarke, editor of the Telegraph & Argus and chairman of the conference organising committee, said winning the chance to stage the conference was a real coup for Bradford.

"Last year's conference was the first ever corporate event to be staged at the Millennium Dome, six months before it officially opened, and we wanted to find a venue that could at least match the significance of that occasion," he said.

"The conference provides a superb opportunity to display Bradford both on a national stage, to some of the most influential figures in communities throughout the country, and on a global stage to some of the most powerful executives in the US media," he said.

"At the T&A, we are particularly proud to be able to present our city in such a positive light. During the event, delegates will have an excellent opportunity to sample some of Bradford's brilliant facilities and see for themselves how the city is striding forward into the twenty-first century."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.