Labour councillors ordered: don’t speak to journalists

By Mark Pack | Wed 14th September 2011 - 7:55 am

Odd news from Liverpool, where Labour council leader Joe Anderson has taken such exception to local media coverage of a leaked document relating to the council’s controversial interim Chief Executive appointment that he,

Has ordered all Labour councillors and council officials, including the press office, not to talk to either newspaper. (Liverpool Echo)

A curious twist is that the leaked document was legal advice from Cherie Blair, which the council claims was subsequently contradicted by further advice given to it by … Cherie Blair. To add to the confusion, local newspapers have pointed out that when they contacted the council about the story before running it this second legal advice was not mentioned at all.

As a result, two local newspaper editors have said,

We still await and would welcome evidence that this second document exists.

There are serious questions about the way the interim Chief Executive appointment was made but it did make me smile to see the last paragraph of the Liverpool Echo’s story:

When asked to confirm or deny that Cllr Anderson had ordered the council not to make comment to the two newspapers, a council spokesman declined to comment.

3 Comments

Iain BB 14th Sep '11 - 8:56am

Merseyside Labour really don’t appear to like accountability. Mark Dowd Lab leader of Merseytravel has been steadfastly ‘no commenting’ or being ‘not available’ to the BBC, national newspapers as well as to the Liverpool Post and Echo. When very serious issues have been raised about his personal conduct expensive lawyers have been engaged-paid for out of the public purse.

Chris Davis raised these matters in the European Parliament the other day calling them an abuse of power and the actions of a bully. You can see the video of Chris’s contribution here:

http://birkdalefocus.blogspot.com/2011/09/abuse-of-power-action-of-bullychris.html
Paula 14th Sep '11 - 9:50am

You can see more about this at this link
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=47866&c=1

Lib Dem Councillors in Liverpool are filling the gaps in terms of making sure the local press have stories but there is a huge issue here about how Labour operates. So far councillors have obeyed the edict (well apart from the one who leaked the ban story to the newspaper).
Frank Little 14th Sep '11 - 11:43am

Is Liverpool heading for Special Measures??