Theresa May condemns Grenfell Tower council over media blackout
2 min read
Theresa May has criticised the Tory leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council after he closed down a meeting on the Grenfell Tower fire when a judge ruled that journalists must be allowed to attend.
Nick Paget-Brown sparked chaotic scenes by telling last night's meeting that it could not go ahead with members of the media present because it could prejudice the public inquiry into the tragedy.
That came just hours after a High Court judge over-ruled the council's initial bid to ban reporters from the meeting.
Condemning the move, a spokeswoman for the Prime Minister said: "Our view is that access to democracy should always be easy and we think that's vital if people are to retain confidence in the democratic system.
"There are rules that state that all meetings should be open to the media. The High Court ruled that the meeting should be open and we would have expected the council to respect that."
Communities Secretary Sajid Javid has also criticised Mr Paget-Brown's decision.
He said: "Access to the democratic process should always be open and transparent – I would urge all levels of government to always favour this approach so people can retain confidence in the system."
In a prepared statement, Mr Paget-Brown said: "We are under sustained media criticism for a slow reaction to the fire, non-visibility and for failing to invest in North Kensington. I believe that many of these criticisms need to be challenged and over time they will be, but I can think of nothing more demeaning to the memory of those lost and missing in the fire than seeking the resolution of political scores."
Robert Atkinson, the Labour leader on the council, told Radio Four's Today programme: "I am ashamed of the way in which the council proceeded. They’ve been hiding from residents, they’ve been hiding from backbench councillors for over a week. The leader of the council read the statement and then was not prepared to have a debate with his own council members."
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