And the News of the World, Mail on Sunday, Daily Mail, Sunday People and Sunday Mirror were all ruled to have acted within the code.

This important adjudication... underlines the effectiveness of self-regulation in this area

Prof Robert Pinker PCC acting chairman

Earlier this month the Lord Chancellor's department announced it was planning to make it a crime for news organisations to offer payments to witnesses in criminal trials.

The government feared payments could encourage witnesses to exaggerate their evidence or could prejudice juries.

A new criminal offence would override the existing press code of practice.

But the PCC said the papers had acted within the code and this demonstrated the effectiveness of self-regulation.

None of the witnesses were approached until after they had given evidence, it said.

'Tough criteria'

And offers of payment had only been made because the parents of some of the witnesses told the papers their children would not talk otherwise.

The PCC report therefore concluded the offers of money were justified because it was in the public interest to know more about Ms Gehring's behaviour.

Professor Robert Pinker, acting chairman of the PCC, said: "This important adjudication - applying the tough and rigorous criteria set out in the code of practice - underlines the effectiveness of self-regulation in this area.

"It sets into perspective the Lord Chancellor's consultation paper on witness payments, to which we will be making a considered response in due course."

BBC Media Correspondent Nick Higham said the proposed law was the first time the government had threatened legislation in an area which until now had been left to newspapers themselves to regulate.

It was, our correspondent said, one reason why the commission was "so keen to show that the present system hasn't failed".