Boris Johnson claimed he “loves journalism”. If true, the PM has a funny way of showing it.
All No10 occupants have a had a frosty relationship with the media but none were so outwardly hostile towards it as this one.
Alarm bells started ringing during the general election campaign when the Tories banned the Mirror from the campaign bus.
Johnson refused to face the BBC’s Andrew Neil and hid in a fridge rather than meet reporters.
Having been returned to power with a large majority, No10’s attempts to freeze out the media and avoid scrutiny have got worse.
What are they playing at? And what does it mean for freedom of the press and the ability to hold governments to account?
(Image: Getty Images)
How is Boris Johnson trying to muzzle the media?
Downing Street is fighting battles with press and broadcasters on several fronts.
Since the election it has refused to put up any Cabinet ministers to be interviewed by BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Mr Johnson and other Tories are also refusing to appear on Good Morning Britain to be quizzed by Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid.
No10 is engaged in a war of attrition with political journalists based in the Houses of Parliament.
They have axed a briefing held immediately after Prime Minister’s Questions where Johnson’s official spokesman was asked about his answers to MPs – and moved their daily briefings from Parliament to Downing Street, making it harder for journalists to attend.
What else has No10 done?
Political reporters are often invited to civil service technical briefings.
This is an opportunity to ask questions about a complicated government policy to help inform their viewers and readers.
But the Johnson regime has tried to pick and choose who attends these briefings.
Last week only journalists regarded as sympathetic to the Government were invited to attend one on Huawei’s role in the UK’s 5G coverage.
On Monday, No10 tried to pull the same trick for a briefing on its post-Brexit trade plans, when journalists were lined up in the hall and ticked off a list.
Those acceptable to Johnson’s team were allowed in and those who were not, which included the Mirror, were told to leave.
All the assembled journalists walked out in protest.
Have other PMs done this?
As you would expect, Labour are more sympathetic to left-wing papers and Tories to right-wing titles. David Cameron rarely called on the Mirror to ask a question at a press conference.
But we were never denied access to briefings, travelled with Mr Cameron on overseas trips and were allowed on the Tory campaign bus.
There is no precedent for a government dictating who gets access to a civil service briefing.
The service is supposed to be impartial, so any briefings by them should be open to all media regardless of their editorial stance.
Nor is there any precedent for a government that refuses to put up anyone for the Today programme, as happened this week, after a major terror attack.
Why is Johnson doing this?
The PM has a history of trying to avoid being held to account. Since taking power last July he has failed to appear in front of the Liaison Committee of senior backbench MPs despite three invitations.
All four of his predecessors, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Mr Cameron and Theresa May, faced it. Many suspect the hands of Mr Johnson’s senior adviser Dominic Cummings and Director of Communications, Lee Cain.
They are understood to resent what they saw as negative coverage by some during the election and are taking revenge.
Cummings likes to cause disruption that can distract from what the Government is doing.
By lighting lots of different fires it is tiring for his opponents to keep stamping them out. He can whittle down the opposition as he seeks to change the rules.
The media may win one battle only for him to start another they are too exhausted to fight.
(Image: Crown Copyright)
Is he influenced by Donald Trump?
Undoubtedly. The US President has used social media and rallies to wage a war against critical media outlets.
Access to the White House has been denied to some. Mr Trump, who has called journalists the “enemy of the people”, knows his Twitter onslaughts muddy the waters about what is the truth and distract attention from his failings.
Mr Johnson’s team is using the same tactics. He is using Facebook live and Twitter to reach out over the head of the traditional media.
And he is copying Trump by divisively painting Westminster journalists as part of a privileged elite, out of touch with people.
Why does it matter?
If newspapers are denied access to briefings they cannot inform readers of what is happening or hold those in power to account.
Governments will behave in a high-handed manner and make decisions that may adversely affect people’s lives. Corruption and cronyism are less likely to prosper if you have an independent media.
Democracy is weakened. Others fear Johnson is pursuing a more sinister agenda that will lead to the axing of the BBC and allow a US-style media landscape where partisan news channels such as Fox can become cheerleaders for a right-wing government.
That will be followed by the undermining of other institutions that hold the Government in check, such as the judiciary.
