Labour bars journalists from party conference

Journalists from Declassified UK have been barred from attending Labour’s conference in Liverpool this week.

It marks the second year in a row that Declassified has been refused entry, with the Labour party failing to provide a clear reason on both occasions.

Last year, one of our journalists was barred from the conference, while this year Labour has refused entry to both authors of this article, as well as our chief reporter Martin Williams and chief video journalist Alex Morris.

Emails requesting an appeal of the decision have gone unanswered.

The move has drawn condemnation from Labour MP Richard Burgon, who said: “Declassified has provided vital reporting on Israel’s war on Gaza and our government’s involvement. It is deeply concerning that their accredited journalists have been denied entry to the Labour party conference.

“At a time when Donald Trump is clamping down on press freedom, it is more important than ever to uphold the right of journalists to do their job – scrutinising governments and holding power to account”.

UK director of Reporters Without Borders Fiona O’Brien told Declassified: “It is not for politicians to decide which media can – or can’t – scrutinise their actions. Democracy depends on freedom of the press to cover the actions of political parties, so it is deeply alarming to see the ruling Labour party denying accredited journalists access to its conference.

“As the party of Government, Labour should be setting the tone, and making it clear it welcomes media scrutiny. This denial of access to some journalists is part of a worrying pattern we’re seeing across the political spectrum in the UK, and it has to stop: journalists must be allowed to do their job of holding power to account unimpeded”.

Pro-Israel lobbyists welcome

While blocking journalists, the Labour party has allowed major arms firms and lobby groups to attend the conference and sponsor events there.

Britain’s largest weapons firm, BAE Systems, will be sponsoring an event on “future challenges in defence”, which will be a discussion between defence secretary John Healey and Sky News’ Tamara Cohen.

BAE Systems makes the rear fuselage for the F-35 jet which has been used by Israeli forces to commit war crimes in Gaza.

Labour Friends of Israel (LFI) will also be welcomed into the conference.

The pro-Israel lobby group, which refuses to disclose its funders, will be hosting a discussion on “The Israeli-Palestinian conflict and prospects for peace in the Middle East”.

Panellists will include Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer alongside LFI vice-chair Damien Egan and Michael Stephens from RUSI, a think tank funded by the arms industry.

Prime minister Keir Starmer recently appointed LFI’s outgoing chair, Jon Pearce, as his parliamentary private secretary.

There will also be a drinks reception sponsored by Labour Together, the controversial think tank accused of fraudulent campaign spending to facilitate Keir Starmer’s entry into Downing Street.

Parliamentary pass denied

The decision to bar Declassified from the Labour conference follows similar moves by both the recent London arms fair and House of Commons to deny us media passes.

Internal emails we discovered showed how officials cited Declassified’s “in-depth investigations… from a particular standpoint” when rejecting our application for a parliamentary press pass.

Officials also flagged a recent investigation we published that raised concerns over pro-Israel bias in Westminster.

The Labour party’s rejection email said: “Every year we have an incredibly high demand for media passes and it is not possible to grant access to every applicant.

“In this instance, your application for a media pass has been unsuccessful and a pass will not be issued.

“For further information: Media passes are for accredited journalists and photographers with a relevant portfolio only.

“We reserve the right to reject an application if we cannot find any evidence the applicant is a working journalist or photographer with a political portfolio or working on behalf of a relevant media outlet”.

The Labour party did not respond to a request for comment.