Several prominent international organisations monitoring press freedom have written to the Prime Minister Boris Johnson asking him to overturn the ban on openDemocracy and other media outlets from press briefings.
Earlier this week, the government was condemned for using “tactics deployed by repressive regimes” after openDemocracy revealed it was barred from asking direct questions at Number 10’s televised daily briefing on the orders of Johnson and his senior advisor Dominic Cummings.
The letter from the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR), which is signed by organisations including European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), Article 19 and the European Federation of Journalists, criticises the government for its attempts to “restrict media scrutiny of its policies and discredit critical reporting”.
