Dear Ugbana Oyet (Serjeant at Arms) and The Rt Hon Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP (Commons Speaker),
CC:
House of Commons Press Office,
Lisa Nandy MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
We, the undersigned, believe in the importance of media access to Westminster.
In the interests of press freedom, we write to express our deep concern over the recent decision by parliamentary authorities to reject Declassified UK’s application for a parliamentary press pass. The details of the case are reported here: https://www.declassifieduk.org/parliament-blocks-declassified-citing-our-gaza-standpoint/
When the application was rejected, authorities initially blamed space and capacity within the parliamentary estate. However, documents released under the Freedom of Information Act reveal there is no limit to the number of press passes that can be issued – and that capacity was not even discussed as a consideration.
Instead, officials cited the “particular standpoint” of Declassified’s “in-depth investigations” into foreign policy. They also flagged a recent article that raised concerns about pro-Israel bias in Westminster.
Other reasons for rejecting the application were clearly bogus, including a claim that Declassified’s focus on UK foreign policy does not count as “politics”.
This is a flagrant and partisan attempt to suppress investigative journalism.
Whatever our personal political views may be, we are united in believing that a diverse and critical media is vital for UK democracy and accountability.
As such, we call on parliamentary authorities to urgently review this decision and issue Declassified with a press pass. We also urge parliamentary authorities to review the way that future applications are processed, to avoid any partisan interference with future applications.
Yours sincerely,
Mark Curtis, co-director, Declassified UK
Laura Pidcock, co-director, Declassified UK
Phil Miller, Editor, Declassified UK
Martin Williams, chief investigator, Declassified UK
John McEvoy, chief reporter, Declassified UK
Alex Morris, chief video journalist, Declassified UK
Vicki Thomas, head of communications, Declassified UK
