The BBC is boycotting mayoral briefings in one of Britain’s wokest cities after the council banned a reporter for quizzing a Labor politician on why he flew across the Atlantic to gave a 14-minute speech on climate change.
Local democracy reporter Alex Seabrook, who works with the BBC and the Bristol Live website, had questioned Labor Major Marvin Rees about the ‘irony’ of traveling to Canada to give a TED talk about saving the planet when he could have done it on Zoom.
Mr Seabrook, who asked Mayor Rees why he saw fit to jet across the Atlantic having previously declared a ‘climate emergency’ in 2018, will now no longer attend the press conferences after his bosses accused the council of stifling free speech.
Other journalists have rallied around in support, with the BBC and other local news outlets confirming they will not be sending representatives to mayoral briefings while he remains barred from attending and demanded the ban be lifted.
In a toe-curling press conference, Saskia Konynenburg, head of communications at Bristol City Council, intervened saying she disagreed that Mr Seabrook’s question on the major’s 9,200-mile carbon-spouting round trip in April to give a climate talk was ‘legitimate’.
Ms Konynenburg describes herself as an ‘influential communications leader, focused strategist and innovative content creator’ and was only a reporter for three months in each career largely working for the public sector and charities, according to LinkedIn.
When Mr Seabrook said his job was to hold the major to account, she replied: ‘I think it is probably from a journalist from a newspaper, but I can’t quite see the link to LDR, but I’ll leave it there. ‘
In a toe-curling press conference, Saskia Konynenburg, head of communications at Bristol City Council, intervened saying she disagreed that Mr Seabrook’s question was ‘legitimate’.
Reporter Alex Seabrook (left), who works with the BBC and the Bristol Live website, questioned Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees (right) about the ‘irony’ of his long flight to deliver a talk on climate change
Major Rees was last year branded a ‘bully’ and an ‘egoist’ after councillors – including from his own Labor group – accused him of sidelining them and shutting down debate.
Bristol City Council was branded woke after it paid for purple lightbulbs to be installed to mark the death of George Floyd at a BLM vigil. The city’s mayor joined protests in his city against Brexit.
He also called the toppling of the statue of Edward Colston in the city as an act of ‘historical poetry’. In May 2022, a referendum took place in Bristol to decide if the city should continue being run by a major or a council-led committee system. The city voted 59% in favor of abolishing the post. Rees will continue to serve as major until 2024 before the job is axed.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service is a news agency funded by the BBC, with reporters working on regional titles across the UK covering local authorities and other public-service bodies.
In the press briefing from June 8, Mr Seabrook asked: ‘I want to say your TED talk was very interesting.
‘I wondered, firstly, if you saw the irony in flying so far for climate change, and secondly, why can’t you use Zoom instead?’
Mr Rees said he felt that there was ‘no irony’ because ‘mayors need to be involved in shaping national and international policy.’
He added: ‘We can’t leave it to national politicians because they’re failing us, we saw that at COP. Bill Gates was there.
‘He was there to combat climate change. Elon Musk was there.
‘So the question is, how do you get the biggest platform.
‘Then it is how do you maximise the platform for that?
‘With all the best will in the world, getting it on the Bristol Live website isn’t going to give us that platform, is it?’
However, after he had finished speaking, Ms Konyenburg suggested the question was inappropriate for Mr Seabrook to ask in his role as an LDR.
She said: ‘In terms of your role as an LDR, from my understanding, it would be to report and provide impartial coverage regarding the regular workings of local authorities and public sector bodies.
‘My question is that Marvin was fully funded by TED to attend this conference, so I couldn’t quite understand what the role is in an LDR asking those questions?’
The reporter replied: ‘It’s holding people who lead local authorities to account, obviously being the leader of Bristol City Council there were questions regarding the huge amount of carbon emissions from flying so far. So I think it is a legitimate question. ‘
Ms Konynenburg interjects: ‘I think it is probably from a journalist from a newspaper, but I can’t quite see the link to LDR, but I’ll leave it there.’
The Bristol Post today agreed not to send Local Democracy Reporters (LDR) to events held by Bristol City Council’s major, a spokesperson for the council said.
But they insisted that the LDR reporters were not barred.
It comes after a council boss blasted one of the reporters, part of a news service funded by the BBC, – because they were ‘not a journalist from a newspaper’.
Saskia Konynenburg, head of communications at the Bristol City Council, disagreed that a question on the mayor’s 4,600 carbon-spouting trip to give a climate talk was ‘legitimate’.
The question was put forward by Local Democracy Reporter Alex Seabrook, who works with the BBC and the local Bristol publications.
A spokesperson for Bristol City Council confirmed there had been a ‘long-standing’ agreement the reporters would not be sent.
They said: ‘There has been a long-standing mutual agreement between the Mayor’s Office and the Post about personnel attending press conferences whenever they are announced and held, and that LDR’s would not be sent due to the narrow definition of their role as an impartial service. ‘
However, this has been disputed by Bristol Live editor Pete Gavan, who said: ‘In the past, we had agreed to send other reporters to the mayoral briefings when possible but reserved the right to send the LDRs.’
The BBC said it was ‘deeply disappointed’ by the decision to bar Mr Seabrook from the briefings.
‘We are deeply disappointed by the decision taken by the Mayor’s Office to not allow the Bristol LDR into his fortnightly press conference,’ a spokesperson said.
‘It is an essential ingredient of local democracy that journalists should be able to ask robust, challenging questions to people in power.
Marvin Rees speaks to demonstrators on Green College in Bristol protesting in favor of the EU and against Brexit
‘We have today informed the Mayor that the BBC will not be attending the fortnightly Mayoral briefings until this important issue is resolved.
‘We will continue to report on the City Council and Mayor as normal by attending all other meetings.’
They were followed by local news outlets BristolWorld and Bristol24 / 7, both of which confirmed they would not send reporters to cover briefings until the ban is lifted.
In a statement BristolWorld said: ‘BristolWorld will not be sending representatives to the major’s fortnightly press conferences while the region’s Local Democracy Reporters are barred from attending.
‘In the interests of openness and transparency, it is vital journalists are allowed to question Marvin Rees on all issues impacting our city.
‘To stop access to the LDR reporters indicates a degree of control on who and who cannot ask those questions, which we say is wrong.’