Australia’s national broadcaster, the ABC, has been excluded from attending Donald Trump’s press conference near London this week, days after a public clash between the broadcaster’s Americas editor, John Lyons, and the president in Washington DC over his business dealings.
Both Downing Street and the Foreign Press Association in the UK said the ABC had not been targeted, but rather was moved to an overflow room along with other international outlets due to space constraints. The ABC said its London bureau was informed by Downing Street that its accreditation to attend the press conference had been withdrawn for “logistical reasons”.
UK officials subsequently said any suggestion that there was a link to questions previously put to Trump was “entirely untrue”. A decision was made on Monday to move the press conference indoors with reduced capacity. Ten of 15 overseas journalists originally accredited, including the ABC, were moved to an adjacent room.
The call on which journalists were moved was made by Downing Street after liaising with the Foreign Press Association, based on which organisations held so-called lobby passes for the UK parliament. A government spokesperson said: “Media accreditation for the state visit press conference at Chequers has been limited by capacity, caused by inevitable high demand.”
Lyons, who is reporting for Four Corners, drew the ire of the US president on Tuesday when he asked Trump how much wealthier he had become since returning to the Oval Office. Trump accused the reporter of “hurting Australia” with the line of questioning. The Trump administration used an official X account to label Lyons a “foreign fake news loser”.
Australia’s politicians threw their support behind Lyons. The Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said Trump was trying to bully the media and Australia. The ABC news director, Justin Stevens, said Lyons had the broadcaster’s full support, adding: “John Lyons is a highly awarded journalist and one of the most experienced and respected reporters in Australia. His job is to ask questions.”
