• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Meet the Team
  • Contact us
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home News Media

Is the government up to its old tricks at press briefings?

According to reports the Sunday Times has been barred from briefings following a run of negative coverage.

Jack Peat by Jack Peat
2020-04-27 10:20
in Media, News
FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

The UK government has been accused of getting up to its old tricks at press briefings after a series of damning reports left them rattled.

According to Toby Helm, the Observer’s Political Editor, the Sunday Times has been barred from asking questions at the briefings because “they dared to criticise govt’s response to Coronavirus”.

It is also rumoured that if any other newspaper helped the newspaper they would be barred from asking questions at the briefing too.

Unprecedented response

The Department of Health re-launched its blog last week as part of an unprecedented response to a damning expose. 

Boris Johnson was revealed to have skipped five Cobra meetings on the coronavirus outbreak and was singled out for contributing to a “lost” five weeks from January 24 which allowed Britain to “sleepwalk into disaster”.

The Sunday Times continued on the offensive this weekend, warning the government about picking a fight with the media and “going down the Donald Trump route”.

“The government … needs to be very careful about picking a fight with the media and going down the Donald Trump route.”

The Sunday Times is on fire and not backing down. pic.twitter.com/bRqKztHdH2

— Mike Galsworthy (@mikegalsworthy) April 26, 2020

Brexit briefings

But Boris and co have previous on the matter after waging war with the press during Brexit briefings at the start of the year.

RelatedPosts

Raab rejects bid to include right to abortion in Bill of Rights as Creasy slams move

Steve Bray: Stop Brexit Man vows to protest ‘twice as loud’ after police seize amplifiers

Corbyn’s message to Royal Mail as workers balloted on summer strike action

Watch: Liz Truss skewered over questions on government links to ‘authoritarian’ Saudi Arabia

Members of the press were forced to stage a mass walkout after reporters from some outlets were ordered to leave Number 10 for a select briefing of certain favoured journalists.

The journalists excluded included outlets viewed as left-wing or critical of the Government.

The Daily Mirror’s political editor Pippa Crerar said at the time that she “felt deeply uncomfortable being left to stand on one side of the room while colleagues’ names were read out one-by-one and they joined the group who were deemed ‘acceptable’ by No 10”, describing the move as “sinister and sad”.

Press freedom index

Last week the UK slipped down the press freedom index to 35th in the table.

The annual list, produced by the campaign group Reporters Without Borders, surveys the state of the media in 180 countries and territories.

It concluded the UK had slipped two places to number 35 on the list, below countries including Costa Rica, Ghana and South Africa.

Related: Public support in the government continues to tumble

Please login to join discussion

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.

The shop can be found here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending on TLE

  • All
  • trending
Abdollah

‘Rescue us’: Afghan teacher begs UK to help him escape Taliban

CHOMSKY: “If Corbyn had been elected, Britain would be pursuing a much more sane course”

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

More from TLE

Watch: New Zealand deal makes ‘sacrificial lambs’ of UK farmers, says New Zealand

Huge Theresa May effigy giving the two fingers erected on White Cliffs of Dover

Young woman stabbed to death last night just yards away from fatal shooting – in unrelated act of extreme violence

This is the perfect job, according to research

EU warns no renegotiation: Only options are Theresa May’s Brexit deal, no deal Brexit or no Brexit.

Film Review: Skate Kitchen

Most Rees-Mogg thing that could ever happen? Minister snapped bundling kids into back of vintage Bentley

Super-buff personal trainer defies cystic fibrosis odds to transform into real-life Thor

UK sees its biggest jump in Covid-19 deaths as Johnson and Hancock test positive

Sadiq Khan: TfL services will be cut without immediate Government grant

JOBS

FIND MORE JOBS

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • JOBS
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.