The Scottish Conservative conference in Glasgow experienced a chaotic press conference with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak after Downing Street attempted to restrict access to a Q&A session.
Initially, only six pre-selected journalists and the Press Association news agency were allowed to participate. However, other journalists present at the conference gained access the event, forcing Number 10 to reconsider its decision and permit the press huddle to continue as originally planned.
The confrontation between Scottish political journalists and Tory officials ensued when the uninvited reporters collectively entered the briefing room. They were later joined by camera crews from major news outlets such as Sky News, STV, and BBC Scotland. Despite the tension, Downing Street officials refused to allow the TV crews to ask Sunak a single question regarding Richard Sharp’s resignation as BBC chair.
Sunak, while addressing the disorderly handling of the press conference, denied that journalists had been prevented from attending. The Scottish Parliamentary Journalists Association (SPJA) criticised Downing Street’s actions as unprecedented and detrimental to the democratic process.
In the end, Sunak provided answers to six questions from the hand-picked journalists but faced scepticism due to the conflicting accounts of the day’s events. The SPJA stressed the importance of holding the Prime Minister accountable during his visits to Scotland and highlighted that the attempts to limit access undermined this essential democratic principle.
