The mayor of Bristol has denied he has banned local democracy reporters from attending his fortnightly press conferences. Marvin Rees claimed the reporters weren’t banned, but they “weren’t invited”.
A row broke out last month after a clip surfaced from a recent press conference, in which the mayor was asked by Bristol Live's LDR if he “saw the irony” in flying to Vancouver to give a talk on climate change. After the clip went viral, the mayor’s office declined to invite local democracy reporters to his next press briefing, sparking a wider boycott from Bristol’s journalists.
Asked if he would reverse the ban on local democracy reporters attending his fortnightly press conferences, during a council meeting on Tuesday, July 5, he denied there was ever a ban.
