No 10 should pause plans to scrap one of its two daily press briefings, a leading campaign group for media freedoms has said.
The Index on Censorship said Sir Keir Starmer must shelve the proposals until a full consultation with journalists had been carried out.
Downing Street slipped out an announcement just days before Christmas that it was cancelling the afternoon briefing for lobby reporters.
The decision led to uproar and ministers now face being summoned to the Commons to explain the impact it will have on press freedom.
‘They’re essential’
Sir Keir’s communications chief has argued that the afternoon briefings were “very sparsely attended” and were not a good use of time.
He has said they would be replaced by “occasional” ministerial press conferences, for which No 10 will be able to hand-pick who gets press questions.
Index on Censorship, a UK-based organisation that champions freedom of expression worldwide, voiced concerns about the change.
Jemimah Steinfeld, its chief executive, said: “The Government says the briefings are essentially inefficient, hence they need to go, but a functioning democracy is about transparency and scrutiny, not simply streamlined processes.
“And many who’ve attended the briefings say they’re an essential space for journalists to dig deeper.
“So if they do go ahead with these plans, they must only be taken after a thorough consultation with all involved, and with clear reasoning articulated to the public on why the changes definitely won’t imperil media freedom.
“This is important in general and especially so right now when people’s faith in democracy is waning around the world, including in the UK.”
Concern for democracy
The change will mean that from the start of January there will be only one daily briefing for Westminster journalists, taking place every morning.
All accredited media outlets can attend lobby briefings and the Prime Minister’s spokesman takes questions from everyone who wishes to ask one.
In contrast access to press conferences is tightly controlled and Downing Street spin doctors usually pre-select who will get to ask a question.
Other groups to have criticised the planned changes include the Society of Editors, which said they risked weakening scrutiny of the Government.
Senior politicians have also voiced concerns that the reforms look like a further “chipping away at democracy” by this Labour government.
Dame Caroline Dinenage, the Tory chairman of the Commons media committee, compared the decision to the postponement of local elections.
Even Labour MPs have questioned the move, with one telling The Telegraph: “I think it’s weird. The obvious question is, ‘What have they got to hide?’
“Journalists are there to ask difficult questions. Politicians or their staff need to have the skills to respond to those difficult questions.”
In an email announcing the changes, Downing Street argued that the afternoon briefing was poorly attended and often repeated positions issued in the morning Q&A session.
Tim Allan, Downing Street’s executive director of communications, said the media landscape had been “utterly transformed” in recent years, leaving the current arrangements “not fit for purpose”.
He said change was needed to “better serve journalists” and “better inform the public”. He said the new system would allow the lobby “more direct access to ministers and a greater ability to access information about government policies”.
But David Hughes and Lizzy Buchan, the outgoing and incoming chairmen of the lobby, said: “We are greatly concerned by this step and furious that the lobby was not consulted about this move, which restricts access and, we fear, scrutiny.
“Downing Street has promised more ministerial press conferences, but they will obviously control the timetable for those and will no doubt seek to choose who they take questions from.
“None of this bodes well for transparency from a government which came into office promising to raise standards.”
