Media scrutiny

I have written on these pages before about the Johnson government’s vendetta against the BBC and the threat this craven Tory administration poses to its independence and quality. It is worth pointing out that the Government’s paranoia about any negative reporting also extends to other branches of the media.

It’s now over 130 days since a government minister appeared on ITV’S Good Morning Britain. BBC’S Newsnight was boycotted for a number of months, as was the BBC Today programme. The Government also banned ministers from appearing on Channel 4 news for many months. In February certain reporters were not allowed into a Downing Street press briefing, prompting all reporters to leave in protest.

The Government is also planning to introduce Whitehouse-style press briefings which would dilute the opportunities for journalists to question minister sand officials effectively.

It is crystal clear this government, which has a majority of 80 seats in parliament, is running scared of any sort of press scrutiny and one has to wonder why.

A more cynical observer might see it as yet another Cummings strategy pilfered from the Trump approach to opaque government. With rumours of a right-wing cable news programme, similar to Trump’s favourite Fox News, being developed in the UK, one can see where all this government paranoia might be heading.

D MITCHELL

Coates Place, Edinburgh