The letter says the ban was “irrational” and without legal basis
A local newspaper has launched a legal challenge against a Reform-led council after its leader imposed a media ban on the paper’s journalists.
Nottinghamshire Live has sent the Reform leaders of Nottinghamshire County Council a legal letter. It warns that further steps could be taken if they don’t lift the ban.
In an unprecedented move, Reform leader of Nottinghamshire County Council Mick Barton announced back in August that his administration would no longer deal with The Nottingham Post and its online arm Nottinghamshire Live.
Barton allegedly issued the ban after an article in The Post suggested that some councillors opposed his plan for local government reorganisation.
The letter, prepared with Nottinghamshire Live’s legal team, sets out that the decision to issue the ban was without legal basis “due to its irrationality”.
The Reform-led council has until Thursday 2 October to respond to the letter.
Critics have said Reform’s media ban mirrors Donald Trump’s crackdown on free press.
Trump has also filed lawsuits against outlets whose coverage he dislikes.
Following his inauguration in January, Trump signed an executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.
Global news agency The Associated Press acknowledged Trump’s order, but said it would mostly refer to the gulf by its original name. In response, Trump then banned AP from accessing some Presidential events. A judge later ordered Trump to lift the ban.
Reform has banned more critical outlets from attending its party conference. In addition, on a recent visit to Scotland, Farage accused a journalist of co-ordinating protests against him.
Earlier this month, The Independent’s Political Editor David Maddox wrote that he had taken calls from “a member of Reform’s leadership and an aide to Mr Farage” in which he was told that his paper “will be banned from all events if we do not change a critical story or the tone of our questions and coverage”.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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