Political journalists boycott No 10 briefing
 

Political journalists have boycotted a briefing at No 10 Downing Street after one of Boris Johnson’s aides banned selected reporters from attending.

The walkout took place after a confrontation inside No 10 in which Lee Cain, Johnson’s most senior communications adviser, tried to exclude reporters from the Mirror, i, HuffPost, PoliticsHome, Independent and others.

Reporters on the invited list were asked to stand on one side of a rug in the foyer of No 10, while those not allowed in were asked by security to stand on the other side.

After Cain told the banned journalists to leave, the rest of the journalists decided to walk out collectively rather than allow Downing Street to choose who scrutinises and reports on the government.

Among those who refused the briefing and walked out were the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, ITV’s Robert Peston and political journalists from Sky News, the Daily Mail, Telegraph, Sun, Financial Times and Guardian.

The briefing was due to be given by government officials, who are meant to be neutral rather than political, but it did not happen because of the walkout.

The tactics from No 10 mirror those of Donald Trump in the US, who has been known to try to exclude journalists from reporting on his activities, and represents an escalation of Johnson’s tensions with the media, which have been increasing in recent weeks.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics...r-reporter-ban

Good for them

Good, the road this government is going down with the media is awful

:clap1:

United.
That's nice of the Press that were accepted

Trying to pull a Trump and being told where to stick it. It's the sensible move for any journalist; if they're excluding your peers today, you can't guarantee it won't be you left out in the cold tomorrow.

He should
Try again,

I would imagine most of them know each other socially and are friends as well, its a small pool at the end of the day, nice to see some solidarity in this day and age

Yes many have jumped TV News Channels
And Papers.

So they are all mates.

Why was it tried at all? Does he think this is like trump swamp?

Try what?

Good, Boris and the rest of the Tories are probably trying to emulate Trump and the republicans so I'm glad it's backfiring on them already. Limiting which press gets to report on the government is the power move of a dictator.

The PM Johnson.

He needs to keep his cards
close to his chest.

To many Left Wing
Journalists are Trouble Makers

Omfg :facepalm:

So much for uniting the country

It's a fine, fine day when journalists imagine themselves on the moral high ground.

Is that what you took away from this?
No comment on what your government is trying to do here? Exclude some media from information?
Doesnt it worry you?
Is that what a democratic government claiming to govern for all should do?
All you've got is a sarky comment on morality of the press?
Maybe you could spare a sarky comment on morality of the former journalist who leads the government? You know, the one who was sacked twice for lying, who tried to have someone beaten up, who is a serial philanderer? No comment on his morals and his attempt at dictatorial information politics worthy of a tin pot dictatorship not a "global outward looking" Britain?

Tories have a literal cult following, I swear. It's scary how people will hear this and instantly frame it as someone else's fault.

This is how democracy dies.

It's a terrifying day when the journalists actually HAVE the moral high ground :umm2:

...Lee Cain Jong Un...?...’we’ll only have the nice pics please and the people who like us...’...is that how Britain is made great../..I don’t think so...

BoJo (and the Tories let's face it) really does NOT want to lose the trash rags... The section of the GBP that handed them their majority hangs on every word. If The Sun decides he's a baby murdering vampire they'll be whittling stakes by lunch time.