A victory for free speech as Reform UK drops its ban on the Nottingham Post

Faced with the threat of legal action, Reform-run Nottinghamshire County Council has backed down and scrapped its ban on journalists from the Nottingham Post.

The Guardian reports:

Nottinghamshire county council, which has been led by Reform since the local elections earlier this year, said it was “committed to the principles of openness” after lifting the sanctions it had placed on journalists from the Nottingham Post and its website, Nottinghamshire Live.

The newspaper will now again be invited to public council events and will be added to the council’s distribution list for press releases. The ban had been in place for more than a month and had been condemned by Keir Starmer and local MPs.

And the newspaper goes on to quote Natalie Fahy, Nottinghamshire Live’s editor:

“I’m pleased this unprecedented ban has been lifted and the situation finally resolved so that we can continue to get on with our jobs as we always have done.

“That means asking questions of elected council officials, having access to publicly funded information and events and holding them to account on behalf of our communities in Nottinghamshire.

“This sends a firm message that journalists will not back down if our freedoms are attacked.”

The ban was put in place because the council's leadership was annoyed by a report the Nottingham Post published about tensions within Reform over the reorganisation of local government in the county. So chalk this up as a victory for the freedom of the press.