Reform UK leader Mick Barton imposed an immediate ban preventing the Nottingham Post and its online arm Nottinghamshire Live, plus BBC-funded Local Democracy Reporting Service journalists, from speaking to him or any councillors. The council will stop sending press releases to the publications and will not give interviews or invite them to council events, though reporters may still attend public meetings. The ban will only be lifted for specified emergencies such as flooding, weather incidents, incidents at council-run schools, adult social care, or public safety issues. Reform took control of the council in May with 40 of 66 seats. Nottinghamshire Live's editor described the ban as unprecedented and raised concerns about press freedom and scrutiny of public spending.
Mick Barton has banned the Nottingham Post and its online arm Nottinghamshire Live over what the BBC understands was a disagreement about a story it ran on local government reorganisation. Also included in the ban are BBC-funded journalists who work at the publication as part of the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS). Senior editor Natalie Fahy said she was "very concerned" by the "unprecedented ban".
The authority will stop sending press releases to the publication, and Barton and his colleagues will not give interviews or invite them to council events. Reporters from Nottinghamshire Live and the LDRS will continue to attend public meetings. A spokesperson for the council said: "The ban, which will only be lifted for emergency scenarios like flooding and weather-related cases, incidents at council-run schools, adult social care, or public safety issues, has come into immediate effect."
Collection
[
|
...
]