Concerns have been raised over press freedom in Britain by author and journalist Samuel Earle.
Modelling data released at the start of the year put the UK in the third tier of a global index of freedom of expression due to what was described as the “chilling effect” of government policies, policing and intimidation of journalists in the legal system.
Countries including Israel, Chile, Jamaica and virtually every other western European state were all ranked ahead of the UK in the measure compiled by the advocacy group Index on Censorship.
The UK was listed as only Partially Open in every key metric for the year 2021 – covering academic, digital and media freedom – based on data from a range of sources including Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index, and Unesco’s Observatory of Killed Journalists.
Speaking to The London Economic, Earle said the findings from his own research back up the report,
“The idea that the British press speaks for Britain is just a myth.
“In 2017 you had about 75 per cent of the print press supporting the Conservative Party.
“When the votes came in you had about 40 per cent of voters supported the Labour Party and about 40 per cent supported the Conservative Party.
“There is no way in which those numbers can be said to reflect the British people.”
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