CHANNEL 4 journalists were accused of “trespassing” when they tried to film Gordon Brown meeting with the Earl and Countess of Strathearn despite being on a public street, Krishnan Guru-Murthy has said.
The Channel 4 news anchor tweeted the news after breaking the story yesterday evening.
Initially, the news station reported that staff at the Palace of Holyroodhouse had asked them not to film the meeting between the royals and the former prime minister “on privacy grounds”.
However, on Twitter Guru-Murthy said that this story changed. A Kensington Palace spokesperson reportedly said that they had been stopped using the footage not because of “sensitivities” but because they were “trespassing”.
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The journalist tweeted: “Tonight: Gordon Brown, who's just launched a campaign to save the Union, just had unpublicised meeting with Prince William. Only politician save @NicolaSturgeon met on Royal visit to Scotland. So sensitive #C4News prevented from airing footage shot from outside palace gates!
“Kensington Palace have said we were stopped from airing the footage we filmed of Mr Brown in the grounds of Holyrood Palace - not because of sensitivities - but because they claim #C4News was trespassing. Our team were in public place outside gates.”
The UK Royal Family have not only strayed into the Scottish independence debate but democratic politics. To add to that they have encroached into media control & as a result contributed to a bigger story. The Royals need to butt out of political life in Scotland & the UK. https://t.co/AJKias0u89
— Gerry Hassan (@GerryHassan) May 27, 2021
Channel 4 broadcast footage of two cars entering the palace gates, one of which they said carried Brown, but did not show images of the royals meeting the former Labour leader.
The meeting was initially unpublicised, but was later included in the court circular put out by Kensington Palace.
Former SNP cabinet secretary Michael Russell asked: "Prevented by whom? Surely no Royal or Brown veto on journalism?
"And when shown next questions must be 'why' and 'what was discussed'."
National columnist Gerry Hassan commented: “The UK Royal Family have not only strayed into the Scottish independence debate but democratic politics. To add to that they have encroached into media control and as a result contributed to a bigger story.
“The royals need to butt out of political life in Scotland and the UK.”
Former BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt added: "That’s one way to draw attention to a meeting you were trying not to draw any attention to."
Kensington Palace has been approached for comment.
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