Petition · past parliament
No.10 stop dripfeeding COVID19 policy to journalists rather than COBRA process
Rejected
10 signatures
What the petition asks
Government has a duty to keep public informed, particularly during a crisis, such as COVID19. Policies and measures are being drip-fed to a select journalists. This is not an appropriate response to a crisis. Measures should be coordinated and announced by appropriate minister via COBRA process.
Some measures published behind paywalls. The public have a right to be informed in a clear, consistent and transparent manner directly from government. Government websites for such a purpose have been built at vast expense to taxpayers, they should be used.
Government seems to choose journalists it considers more likely to report sycophantically rather than objectively. This is not behaviour becoming of a modern democracy. Such methods are generally reserved for tinpot dictatorships.
Government seems to choose journalists it considers more likely to report sycophantically rather than objectively. This is not behaviour becoming of a modern democracy. Such methods are generally reserved for tinpot dictatorships.
Why it was rejected
It was not clear what the petition asked the UK Government or Parliament to do.
Since you started this petition, the Government has started holding daily press briefings.
Timeline
| 14 Mar 2020 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 24 Mar 2020 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
10
Status
Rejected
Rejected
24 Mar 2020
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.