Evasive Labour revealed to have blocked Assembly documentaries
It has been revealed that the Labour party blocked proposals by ITV Wales and BBC Wales to film behind the scenes documentaries at the Assembly.
The Assembly’s Presiding Officer has today written to leaders of political parties to inform them that plans to film behind the scenes could not “get unanimous approval” from all of the political parties. The Labour party has now admitted that they blocked the proposals.
The Presiding Officer had previously written to the leaders saying she believed it would be a ‘fantastic opportunity’ to allow documentaries similar to the BBC’s ‘Inside the Commons’ to be filmed in the Assembly, but suggested she would only give the go-ahead if it had cross party approval.
Peter Black AM, Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Culture Minister said:
“Once again we see the evasive Labour party shutting down transparency and scrutiny in the National Assembly.
“To claim that there was too little notice is pathetic as discussions were still very much in the early stages.
“It’s appalling that Labour have blocked these proposals and tells you everything you need to know about how Labour views both the media and democracy.
“It’s essential that people are better informed about what happens in the National Assembly and this type of programme is an ideal way of doing that. ‘Inside the Commons’ was, in my opinion, a huge success in showing what politicians in Westminster do, while also adding a bit of colour to their character.”
