WESTMINSTER authorities have been accused of an “outrageous abuse” of power after reportedly blocking an investigative news outlet from gaining a press pass over its Gaza “standpoint”.
Declassified UK reported that its application for a media pass – which grants holders virtually unfettered access to the corridors of power and regular government briefings – was declined after officials noted its “in-depth investigations… from a particular standpoint”.
They were also found to have flagged a recent investigation Declassified UK published into concerns over the parliamentary standards commissioner Daniel Greenberg expressed support for Israel’s assault on Gaza in November 2023, while in his nominally impartial role.
Declassified UK obtained internal emails after its application for a media pass was declined, with the denial initially attributed to “limitations within the parliamentary estate”.
Through a Freedom of Information request, the outlet found that concerns had been raised by officials about the outlet’s stance, with one describing Declassified UK’s case as “potentially more sensitive” than other applications.
The unnamed official, said they were “minded to decline” the request due to Declassified UK seeking access only once a week and claiming that its focus on “foreign affairs” meant they were not a “politics” outlet.
The official went on: “However, if we did decline, I think they will potentially ask some quite detailed questions around access policies – requests are generally taken on a case by case basis and I think they may question why some other ‘fringe’/non-traditional media like OpenDemocracy have a pass when we would be declining Declassified.
“They are the type of outlet that may do some commentary about being ‘shut out’, and make unwarranted comparisons with the fact that they’ve done critical articles about Parliament.”
The official also raised the prospect of their email and other correspondence around the application being requested under Freedom of Information laws.
Serjeant at Arms Ugbana Oyet, effectively the person responsible for access and order in the UK Parliament, ultimately declined the application, apparently on the basis of the concerns raised in the initial email.
The revelation has sparked fury from across political parties and a response from the journalists’ trade union.
Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader, said: “Declassified have done outstanding, vital work exposing the scale of British complicity in Israeli war crimes.
“A healthy democracy rests on transparency and accountability. What does Britain have to hide?”
Liz Saville-Roberts (below), the leader of Plaid Cymru, said that parliament “should be proud to make itself open to investigative journalists”.
She said: “The fact that media passes have been denied to certain outlets while others with clear political leanings are approved raises questions about the process of granting parliamentary media passes.”
Shockat Adam, the Independent Alliance MP for Leicester South said: “The denial of a press pass to Declassified is an outrageous abuse by the parliamentary authorities.
He added: “The UK has a long history of fearless and frank investigative journalism and Declassified is part of that tradition. The spurious reasons for refusing them a press pass revealed in their Freedom of Information request appears to reveal a sinister move to suppress investigative political journalism worthy of the Trump White House.”
The Labour peer Lord Prem Sikka told Declassified: “The flame of human rights and public accountability is being extinguished in front of our eyes. The authoritarian state is selectively silencing journalists in the march towards fascism. We need critical journalism more than ever before.”
Ellie Chowns, the Green MP for North Herefordshire and leader of the party’s parliamentary group also condemned the decision, saying: “Press freedom is fundamental to our democracy.
“Decisions on media accreditation should be transparent, based on published criteria, and open to scrutiny so the public can have confidence the rules are applied consistently.”
Meanwhile, the National Union of Journalists responded to the findings saying: “The UK government should recognise the importance of supporting greater media plurality in which diverse views and voices from across the media landscape and political spectrum are represented.”
The union’s general secretary, Laura Davison, added: “Journalists must be able to hold those elected to represent us to account. Public interest journalism requires adequate scrutiny including of parliamentary processes and decisions, and government has the opportunity to lead with transparency, demonstrating its commitment to press freedom.”
Declassified UK reports that when approached for a right of reply, the Commons press office disputed the accuracy of the outlet’s version of events.
A parliamentary spokesperson said: “The House of Commons supports the work of a free and independent press – providing access and facilities to the parliamentary press gallery. Demand far exceeds capacity here, hence numbers are required to be strictly controlled, whilst ensuring fair access across a range of outlets.
“For applications from an outlet that does not already have a pass, or for a request to increase the allocation given to an outlet, we require a business case to be submitted, details of which are available on our website. Unsuccessful applicants may reapply for a pass one year after their original application, and as Parliament is a public building, journalists are still able to visit, attend and report on proceedings and meet members without a media pass. Decisions around accreditation are applied consistently across all applications.”
They added: “The range of media outlets currently granted access – spanning the full spectrum of political opinion and including a wide variety of independent and critical journalism – clearly demonstrates that the accreditation process is impartial and rooted solely in operational considerations and editorial relevance to parliamentary proceedings.
"They are not based on an outlet’s editorial stance or coverage of any one issue, and any suggestion to the contrary is wholly untrue.."
