The government's bill to restrict local authority publications has cleared its final parliamentary stage. The Local Audit and Accountability Bill passed through the Lords without a vote and now awaits royal assent.
It will give the government the power to block local authorities from publishing free newspapers on a regular basis.
And it will also guarantee the right of journalists and bloggers to tweet from council meetings and also film them.
The bill is the brainchild of Eric Pickles, the local communities minister, who has previously referred to some local authority papers as "town hall Pravdas."
Once it becomes law, the future of a number of council-run publications are threatened, such as East End Life, the weekly paper produced by the London borough of Tower Hamlets, which is distributed free to about 100,000 properties in the borough.
Source: Press Gazette
