Michael Gove was left squirming today as he was quizzed on political journalists' walkout from 10 Downing Street.
The Cabinet minister - a former journalist himself - repeatedly refused to say if he would have joined editors who
Mr Gove once stood on a picket line in solidarity with his fellow reporters. But questioned by BBC Radio 5 Live, he would not say if he would have backed yesterday's boycott.
A clearly uncomfortable Mr Gove said: "I wasn't in the room at the time so I won't pass judgment until, of course, I've heard from all the people who were."
The UK's top civil servant was today urged to investigate the "deeply disturbing" decision to order senior journalists from some of the UK's major news organisations - including the Daily Mirror - to leave before a civil service briefing on Boris Johnson's Brexit plans.
Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill was told the situation was "damaging to democracy" by Labour leadership hopeful Sir Keir Starmer, who wrote the letter.
Sir Keir warned "banning" parts of the media risked undermining the integrity of the civil service - and access to the UK's chief negotiator "should not be determined by political favouritism".
Around a dozen journalists from organisations including the Financial Times, the Sun and the Telegraph had received an official invitation from Downing Street to attend the briefing with David Frost, Boris Johnson's Europe advisor, on the PM's post-Brexit trade plans.
But political editors from other publications - who have previously been invited to non-political briefings given by senior civil servants - also turned up.
They were granted entry into No10. But a security official then read out a list of names for those who were allowed entry to the briefing - with those from left-of-centre outlets forced to stand on one side of the entrance hall.
BBC Radio 5 Live host Nicky Campbell said Mr Gove's refusal to answer was "not good enough" and quoted an piece the Cabinet minister wrote in the 1980s when at the Aberdeen Press and Journal.
It said "without truth, democracy dies in darkness" and "rather like nappies, politicians have to be changed often, and generally for the same reason".
Mr Campbell demanded: "Would you and Mrs Gove [also a journalist, Sarah Vine] have been the only two there, like Mr and Mrs?" He added: "Would you have stayed in that room?"
Flustered Mr Gove replied: "Yes. What. No - no I think as I say I wasn't in the room at the time."
Mr Campbell pushed on: "The issue is that you and Mrs Gove would have stayed in the room and every single - the BBC, Robert Peston, Laura Kuenssberg, the Mirror, HuffPost, all the political journalists would have left for the briefing - and you and your wife would have been the only people there."
Mr Gove replied "it's wrong and sexist to bring my wife into it." He added: "I try to make it a rule not to pass judgement on disputes or disagreements when I haven't been present."
Those banned from the briefing, in a move reminiscent of Donald Trump's administration which has tried to exclude journalists from critical organisations, included The Daily Mirror, The i, Huffington Post and the Independent.
Mr Johnson's head of communications Lee Cain arrived and told reporters: "Those who are invited to the briefing can stay, everyone else I'm afraid will have to leave."
He added: "We're welcome to brief whoever we like."
In his letter to the Cabinet Secretary, Sir Keir said: "The actions of the Prime Minister's Director of Communications, who is a political appointee, are deeply disturbing.
"I am concerned that they have undermined the civil service's ability to comply with its core values of integrity, objectivity and impartiality.
"Equally, banning sections of the media from attending important briefings about important matters of Government is damaging to democracy."
He said the media's access to the Prime Minister's chief negotiator "should not be determined by political favouritism".
"I would ask that you investigate urgently this matter and provide assurance that such an incident will not happen again."
Ian Murray, executive director of the Society of Editors, said there were "very real" concerns for press freedom.
He said: "The Society of Editors commends the collective action of lobby journalists to walk out of the briefing and all eyes are on No 10 to make a swift turnaround of their decision.
"Yesterday's actions are very much at odds with the pledges made for freedom of expression by the Prime Minister in his Queen's Speech in December."
A Number 10 source said: "We reserve the right to brief journalists which we choose whenever we wish to, and that is not something abnormal."
The source said around eight or nine organisations from "across the political spectrum" were invited to the briefing, including the BBC, Sky, Guardian, ITV, The Sun, The Daily Mail and The Times.
It was "clearly nonsense" to suggest the exclusion of some publications was on political grounds, the source said.
But Shadow culture secretary Tracy Brabin said: "It is concerning that Boris Johnson seems to be resorting to tactics imported from Donald Trump to hide from scrutiny."
