Allister hits out at Robinson / McGuinness attempt to curtail press freedom
15 April 2009
Jim Allister has expressed his concern at attempts by the Stormont administration to interfere with the freedom of the press in Northern Ireland. The MEP said:
“Peter Robinson’s over-the-top reaction to legitimate questioning from a BBC journalist a few days ago revealed just how averse the Stormont administration is to criticism of any kind. However, the emergence of a letter from the Joint First Ministers to the proprietor of the Belfast Telegraph highlights an even more worrying attempt to interfere with press freedom in the Province.
“As the system of government in Northern Ireland makes no provision for an opposition, our political establishment is not used to the cut and thrust of debate which characterises any truly democratic Assembly. Now the Executive is displaying a worrying tendency to clamp down on any criticism carried in the press. This is deeply worrying and should act as a warning about how far down the road to dictatorship Northern Ireland is.
“The Belfast Telegraph’s criticisms of the Executive were all legitimate. There is a growing realisation in the Province that devolution has fallen far short of the heady promises. As time has passed, more and more people are realizing just how dysfunctional and amateurish the Stormont administration is. When a newspaper highlights a government’s shortcomings there should be an attempt to address the issues and restore public confidence. Not write a letter of complaint to the proprietor.
“It is my belief that the Telegraph is not the only paper in Northern Ireland which has come under governmental pressure about its political coverage. I hope that it will not bow to what amounts to a transparent attempt to interfere with the freedom of the press.
“As there is no opposition in Stormont to hold the Executive to account the role of papers which do not slavishly follow the government line performs a crucial role in deflating the egos of self-important politicians and highlighting their failings”.
