Lobby and Media Briefings: Journalists' Access Debate
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Brendan Clarke-Smith
Main Page: Brendan Clarke-Smith (Conservative - Bassetlaw)Department Debates - View all Brendan Clarke-Smith's debates with the Cabinet Office
Lobby and Media Briefings: Journalists' Access
Brendan Clarke-Smith Excerpts(4 years, 2 months ago)
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Brendan Clarke-Smith (Bassetlaw) (Con)
Does the Minister agree that it is ridiculous for the Labour party to pose as champions of press freedom when, as mentioned earlier, the BBC’s political editor has to be assigned a bodyguard to attend the Labour party conference? Does she agree that that is unacceptable and that our press should be able to report without fear?
Chloe Smith
The press certainly should be able to report without fear. We are strongly in support of there being a free press. Let me point to another example, which is that of the Cairncross review. The Government are pressing forward with ways to support our media to adapt to the digital age, and that is in addition to what I have been saying about the way the Government are ensuring that lobby briefings are available.