Free speech row erupts after council bans journalist who revealed pensioner was blocked access to her own garden

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Free speech row erupts after council bans journalist who revealed pensioner was blocked access to her own garden.

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A Reform UK-led council has been slammed for attacking free speech after it barred a journalist who revealed a pensioner was blocked access to her own garden.

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Derbyshire County Council confirmed it would "end engagement" with local democracy reporter Eddie Bisknell after he reported on the case of Helene Ball from Matlock.The 81-year-old retired teacher won a three-year, £50,000 fight against the council over the right to walk through her own back gate.Mrs Ball's story went viral, being published on national and international news outlets, including GB News.

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TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say However, the council has now confirmed it would no longer engage with Mr Bisknell, who covers local politics in Derbyshire as part of the BBC-funded Local Democracy Reporting Service.

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Speaking to the BBC, Deputy Council leader Stephen Reed suggested Mr Bisknell's story about Mrs Ball should not have been published because it related to "ongoing legal proceeding".He claimed the council had only been...

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