A judge has ordered a London council to lift a ban on the media reporting on the first meeting of councillors to discuss the Grenfell Tower disaster, after a legal challenge by the Guardian and other media groups.
Downing Street had expressed concern after survivors of the fire and members of the media were barred from the Kensington and Chelsea council cabinet meeting on Thursday evening which was to hear a report about the blaze.
The council had opted to hold a private cabinet meeting to hear an oral report about the fire, citing the potential for disorder, and previous threats against staff. Such meetings are usually open to the public.
The meeting was to be led by the council’s Conservative leader, Nicholas Paget-Brown, who has been widely criticised in the wake of the fire.
However, a court application by the Guardian and five other media groups saw the high court order the council to admit members of the media with press cards.
Downing Street had said it wanted all parties involved in the fire aftermath “to be as open and transparent as possible, both with residents and the wider public, to ensure full confidence in the response effort”.
A spokeswoman said: “We would encourage everyone involved to respect this wherever possible.”
Labour’s Andrew Gwynne, the shadow communities secretary, had also urged the council to reconsider. “In order to deliver a response that survivors, residents and the wider public can trust, there is no room for anything less than complete transparency,” he said.
The decision to bar survivors and the wider public from the meeting followed protests two days after the fire, in which at least 79 people died, when angry residents stormed the town hall.
The council said the decision to exclude the public was made in accordance with its own standing orders “which are confirmed in common law”.
A council spokesman said: “As you are aware there have been recent real threats and assaults on council staff and damage to one of the office buildings.
“Such risks remain and we have had to take the decision to hold the meeting in private as to do otherwise would likely result in disorder.”
Asked on what basis the media was also being excluded, a different council spokesman said: “The press are the public. There is no distinction between them.”
Further asked if the council had evidence press could contribute to disorder, the spokesman said: “Well, I’ve seen the media kick off before.”
The Guardian joined a series of other media organisations in making a court application to overturn the ban on the press.
In a letter to the council, the Guardian said allowing journalists into the meeting would allow the council to be “transparent and accountable” by passing information to the public via the media “in its recognised democratic role as a watchdog”.
The council said it would supply minutes of the meeting as soon as possible, and offered media a “shared interview” with Paget-Brown.
The Labour councillor Judith Blakeman, who sits on the board of the Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation, which runs the borough’s housing, said: “The Labour group believe it is a grave mistake to exclude representatives of the Grenfell survivors, others who have been affected by the fire and also the media. We believe this will only give credence to the view that there is a cover-up in progress and we do not accept the excuse that there may be violence.”
She added: “The Labour group have already called for the resignation of the entire cabinet.”
The council notice said: “Please note this meeting will be held entirely in private session, pursuant to Standing Order 31.01, in the light of the risk of disruption (as witnessed on Friday 16 June) and consequent security and public safety concerns.
“As such it will be open only to council members, support officers and invited guests (if any). The public minutes of this meeting will be published, in due course, on the council website.”
It was unclear whether any survivors had been invited to the meeting as guests.
The council has come under intense criticism for its response to the disaster, with many residents claiming they were left to fend for themselves.
Its chief executive, Nicholas Holgate, resigned last week, after pressure from the communities secretary, Sajid Javid.
Calls have been made for Paget-Brown to follow, with London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, demanding the resignation of the entire council leadership.
On 16 June, dozens of protesters stormed Kensington town hall in west London as anger boiled over about the council’s handling of the situation, with crowds yelling: “We want justice now.”
(TheGuardian UK)
