Tottenham and Wood Green Independent reporter John Toner was last night turned away from the Haringey Borough Council chamber as he attempted to report on the authority’s budget plans. Here he recounts his evening:

Haringey Borough Council refused to grant me access to the press gallery for the full council meeting last night and told me to switch off any electronic devices.

I arrived at Haringey Civic Centre in High Road, Wood Green at 6.30pm, a full hour before the meeting was due to take place and watched some of the demonstrations outside before making my way into the building.

When I attempted to go through the security perimeter set up outside the Civic Centre, a council official asked me if I had a press pass, which I do not need to attend the meeting, and told me I would have to switch off my phone before entering the building.

I protested at the request to switch off my phone as I had planned to report live from the meeting, as is my lawful right under the Openness of Local Government Act 2014, and the official acquiesced.

When I got to reception I identified myself as a member of the press and asked to be given access to the press area in the council chamber, which the council has a legal obligation to grant me.

They told me again that I would need a press pass and that I should have arranged attendance with them beforehand, which is not required and is contrary to the principle of transparency.

I was then told I would have to sit in the public gallery and would have to switch off any electronic devices, as would everybody else in the gallery. Again I protested that as a member of the press and, indeed, the public I have every right to use my phone in the gallery to report proceedings live and record the meeting, and again the request was withdrawn.

Once in the public gallery I was angry at being told I would have to sit with my laptop on my knees, squeezed into a busy gallery, attempting to perform the civic function of journalism, so I went back downstairs to repeat my request, but was once again refused access to the press area in the chamber.

I was told on two more occasions to switch off my phone and/or laptop and had to reiterate that I had a right to report on the meeting.

One member of the public, who was also asked to switch off her electronic devices, Googled the specific  act relating to her rights and angrily read it out to a steward who persistently asked her to turn off her phone.

During a lively meeting the public in the gallery were angry and upset at the budget cuts being passed and this made the job of reporting the situation more difficult.

After the meeting I approached the official who had refused me entry and reiterated that it was far from ideal that I had been forced to sit in the public gallery and was briskly told to make a complaint to the relevant department.

Haringey Borough Council has apologised to me for this incident and has promised it will never happen again.

Hopefully for the sake of openness in local government, Haringey Council can keep its promises.

  • A spokesman from Haringey Council said: “The reporter was allowed into the meeting, but we can only grant press area access to people able to identify themselves as journalists, either by showing a press card or by calling the press office. Neither of these things happened.”