The leader of Nottinghamshire County Council said he’d be willing to impose a ban on journalists again – an ‘attack on the press’ which has been branded a ‘sham’ and ‘disgraceful’.
Nottinghamshire County Council met on Thursday (November 20) in a full council meeting where a motion tabled by Broxtowe Alliance councillor, Teresa Cullen, called on the Reform-led authority to “support a free press”.
The council found itself facing backlash at the end of summer after it imposed a ban on local publication, Nottinghamshire Live, and the three Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) reporters it employs.
It followed an article in August which included a claim that Reform councillors not voting for council leader Mick Barton’s preference on local government reorganisation (LGR) said they could be suspended from the group.
The Reform-led authority stopped sending press releases to the organisation, giving interviews to its reporters or inviting them to council events, saying only in emergency situations, such as flooding, would the ban be lifted.
But at the end of September, a partial ban lift was achieved for the publication’s three BBC-funded LDRS reporters after a private meeting with cabinet members. The lifting of the ban was then extended to the rest of Nottinghamshire Live in early October after a legal challenge.
Opening the motion, Cllr Cullen called press freedom a “democratic necessity” and said: “When international news outlets report that we have a problem with press freedom, it does nothing for our reputation or economy.
“The recent ban on Nottinghamshire Live by this Reform council was not just a local spat, it made national headlines. It drew condemnation across the political spectrum and even attracted parliaments overseas.”
The ban was condemned by figures ranging from Prime Minister Keir Starmer to a leading US congressman, alongside more than 40,000 people who signed a petition raising concerns about the precedent the ban set in terms of press freedom.
The ban was due to be discussed at a full council meeting in September but councillors voted down a motion to extend the meeting so it could be discussed.
At Thursday’s meeting Cllr Jody Stoll (Ref) submitted an amendment to the motion, altering the wording of the motion to include “and calls on all local media to adhere to the professional standards they have agreed to”, including accuracy, fairness and a clear distinction between fact and opinion.
During the meeting, Cllr Stoll said his amendment “strengthens” the original motion, adding: “While freedom of the press is vital, it only truly works when people can trust what they read or hear.
“Freedom without fairness, freedom without accuracy, freedom without integrity, that doesn’t serve the public – it just breeds confusion and mistrust.”
Responding to Cllr Stoll, Cllr Cullen called his words and the wording of his amendment an “attack on the press” and said she would not support the amendment.
Speaking during the debate on the amendment, Cllr Barton said: “I did it [the ban] to protect two of my councillors. Would I do it again? Yes I would. I’ve got a job to do.”
Cllr Helen Faccio (Lab) called journalists’ coverage of local politics “essential”, saying: “Openness, honesty and transparency – these are more crucial than ever to our democracy, especially in this era of fake news and the dismissing of research, experts and widely accepted truths.”
Cllr Sam Smith (Con) called Cllr Stoll’s amendment a “sham” and said it was “disgraceful” to question reporters’ professional standards if “you don’t like what they’ve written”.
He said: “The moment we take a step towards not having a free and open press, we are taking a huge step into the very dark wilderness of somewhere none of you want to be in that place where we don’t have a free press.”
Cllr Stoll maintained: “The press has their own standards and all I’ve asked them for is balanced and fair reporting – to uphold their own standards and you’re against that.”
Nottinghamshire Live is regulated by IPSO and follows the Editors’ Code of Practice, which includes a clause relating to accuracy. If a complaint is made to the regulatory body, it will investigate and, where necessary, take action.
Speaking towards the end of the debate, Cllr Cullen said: “You have damaged our reputation further”.
She said: “This could have been the end of it, we could have been seen as the county where all the press was welcomed. We can’t be responsible for how the press write things – they do their job.”
Speaking to the LDRS following the meeting, Cllr Barton reaffirmed that he has no intention of imposing a press ban again, but stands by his original ban – and that it would be enforced again if he felt that councillors were ‘at risk’ by an article.
When asked if a personal distaste for an article could cause another ban, the leader said: “No, it’s not anything like that.
“It happened, it’s behind us, we’re moving on. We’ve got an excellent relationship with press, I always will have.”
