Reform UK Nottinghamshire council leader bans local newspaper’s reporters

The Reform UK leader of Nottinghamshire County Council has banned a local newspaper from speaking to him or any of his councillors “with immediate effect”.

Mick Barton has banned the Nottingham Post and its online arm Nottinghamshire Live over what the BBC understands was a disagreement about a story it ran on local government reorganisation.

Also included in the ban are BBC-funded journalists who work at the publication as part of the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

Senior editor Natalie Fahy said she was “very concerned” by the “unprecedented ban”. In response, Barton said the party would not “allow misinformation to shape the narrative of our governance”.

The authority will stop sending press releases to the publication, and Barton and his colleagues will not give interviews or invite them to council events.

Reporters from Nottinghamshire Live and the LDRS will continue to attend public meetings.

A spokesperson for the council said: “The ban, which will only be lifted for emergency scenarios like flooding and weather-related cases, incidents at council-run schools, adult social care, or public safety issues, has come into immediate effect.”

In a statement, issued on Thursday, Barton said the move was “not about silencing journalism”, but “about upholding the principle that freedom of speech must be paired with responsibility and honesty”.

“We firmly believe that open dialogue is vital to a healthy democracy, and we welcome scrutiny that is conducted with fairness, balance and integrity,” he added.

“However, we also have a duty to protect the credibility of our governance and the voices that we represent.

“For this reason, we will not be engaging with Nottinghamshire Live or with any other media outlet we consider to be consistently misrepresenting our policies, actions or intentions.

“Our door is always open to honest debate and constructive criticism. What we will not do is allow misinformation to shape the narrative of our governance, whether local or national.”

Reform took control of the authority at the local elections in May, winning 40 of 66 seats.

Barton, who has been a councillor on Mansfield District Council since 2003, was elected to the county council for the first time in May and later announced as leader.

Nottinghamshire Live editor Ms Fahy said those who applauded Reform’s decision “should think carefully”.

“We pride ourselves on our balanced and accurate coverage of all political parties across the county and our treatment and coverage of Reform has been no different to any other parties,” she said.

“We see this as a direct attack on the free press and our ability to hold elected members to account. Ultimately, we will struggle to find out where taxpayers’ money is being spent, so those who applaud this decision by Reform should think carefully.

“My concern as a journalist of 20 years is that we are increasingly seeing attacks of this kind which affect how we can carry out our jobs effectively. We’ll continue to speak out and fight against them in the hope of bringing about change.”

The Liberal Democrats have written to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, urging him to intervene.

Liberal Democrat culture, media and sport spokesperson, MP Max Wilkinson, called it a “dangerous and chilling” decision.

“Reform’s move to block local journalists from reporting on their work is straight out of Donald Trump’s playbook,” he added.

MP Kevin Hollinrake, Conservative Party chairman, said it was a “disgrace for Reform to deliberately cut off local journalism”.

He added: “They are completely denying communities the right to scrutinise those in power.

“If Reform can’t even face questions from the Nottingham Post, what hope is there that they could ever face the serious responsibilities of government?”

The leader of the opposition on Nottinghamshire County Council, Conservative Sam Smith, called the ban an “extremely dangerous step”.

He added: “It’s not just the press Reform are shutting out in Nottinghamshire. It’s the voice and views of residents.”

The BBC funds 165 LDRS reporters across the UK, three of which are funded in Nottingham.

A spokesperson for the BBC said: “Independent journalism is vital to local democracy, and journalists must be free to question those in power without fear of reprisals.

“We continue to support Notts Live in seeking a resolution.”