Unless traditional media refuse to play into No 10’s idea of sanitised broadcasts, new approach may become a trend
Boris Johnson’s decision to launch a regular “people’s prime minister’s questions” slot on
Facebook shows how political parties are increasingly able to bypass journalists’ scrutiny – confident that traditional media outlets will, in any eventuality, still report on sanitised official broadcasts.
The attraction of this approach for Downing Street is clear. Why bother holding a regular prime ministerial press conference for Westminster journalists who will ask about tricky subjects if you can select the questions yourself?