Farage to speak to council leader over press ban

Nigel Farage said he would speak to council leader Mick Barton at Reform's party conference on Friday

Nigel Farage has said he will "have a little chat" with the leader of a Reform UK council over a decision to ban contact with reporters from a local newspaper.

Last week, Nottinghamshire County Council told the BBC that Mick Barton had banned the Nottingham Post and its online arm, Nottinghamshire Live, from speaking to him and other councillors "with immediate effect".

It followed a disagreement over a story the publication ran about local government reorganisation, though Barton later said the ban applied only to him personally.

Farage, the national leader of Reform UK, has now said he will intervene in the row.

Farage is currently in Washington, D.C, and on Wednesday spoke to Congress about free speech issues in the UK.

Afterwards, the BBC asked Farage why Barton had banned Nottingham Post reporters.

"I don't know. I'm going to see him [Barton] at the [Reform UK] conference this Friday and have a chat with him," Farage said.

When asked if he was happy about the ban, Farage added: "He obviously thinks they're bad actors, but I think I've got a good history of being a peacemaker in these situations."

When asked if Barton was "in trouble", Farage added: "No, no, I am a very good peacemaker and I've seen all this before.

"I've been in and out of politics for 30 years, I have seen these disputes before, and we need to find a solution."

He did not answer when asked if the county council ban would be lifted.

Barton previously said: "We haven't got a problem, I've not got a problem, I'm being professional and I hope the Notts Post become professional.

"The ban still stands until they come and apologise. They need to pick the phone up and speak to me."

He added he had "never stopped" his councillors from speaking to journalists at the publication.

Barton said the recent banning of the Nottingham Post only applied to council press releases, invitations to events and interviews with him

The ban, which included BBC-funded journalists based at the title as part of the Local Democracy Reporting Service, had been criticised by senior editor Natalie Fahy.

Ms Fahy attempted to hand Barton a copy of the Nottingham Post at the start of a full meeting of the county council on Tuesday, which he refused to accept.

Ms Fahy told the BBC, on Wednesday, that the dispute had "really blown up".

"I'm really glad everyone is talking about it because it's such an important issue," she said.

"A lot of national journalists are concerned the same thing could happen to them with Reform.

"I want to get back to basics. I want to resolve this amicably so we can get on with our jobs - which includes finding out how council tax money is spent.

"Mick has to be reasonable and understand the role of the local press in holding councils to account."

According to the Post, an article written by its agenda editor Oliver Pridmore prompted the ban.

The piece - about ongoing discussions over the reorganisation of local government - included a claim that two Reform UK councillors said at a public surgery they could be suspended from their county council group if they did not vote for Barton's preferred model.

Mr Pridmore attended the meeting and afterwards said: "We haven't got anything to apologise for, and we stand by the coverage we produced.

"It's the exact same coverage we provide on any council in our patch."

A petition created by the publication, called Reform: Stop hiding from press scrutiny, has gained more than 26,000 signatures.

Barton was contacted for comment.