This afternoon, journalists from every major broadcaster and newspaper walked out of Number 10 after Boris Johnson's team tried to exclude some outlets from a civil service briefing.
The Mirror's Head of Politics Jason Beattie explains why that's something to worry about
Of all the pressing issues facing this country you can safely wager that who gets access to a Downing Street briefing is near the bottom of the list.
So I understand why you may struggle to share the outrage at Boris Johnson banning the Mirror and other papers from a background chat with his trade envoy.
This is why you should:
Yes, we political journalists are part of the Westminster bubble and, yes, we operate in a privileged world far removed from most people’s lives.
But we are there to serve our readers. To be your ears and eyes, to hold power to account and to ask probing questions on your behalf.
So when Johnson takes a leaf out of Donald Trump’s book of dirty tricks and picks and chooses who gets to attend a briefing he’s insulting Mirror readers.
George Orwell once wrote that if liberty means anything it is the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.
If a free press means anything it is the right to report what the Government doesn’t want you to know.
That freedom is suddenly looking very shaky.
