Bristol Evening Post accused of intimidating councillors during Bristol City FC row
The Bristol Evening Post has been accused of intimidating city councillors during a row over controversial proposals to build a new Sainsbury’s store on fields in the Ashton Vale area.
Approval of the store is seen as a major step towards the development of a new national stadium for Bristol City Football Club, as it will provide 14% of the development’s funding.
@Bristol architect and Tobacco Factory owner, George Ferguson, has claimed that the newspaper intimidated the councillors that initially turned down the scheme in July, by printing their pictures in the newspaper.
It is understood that the councillors were subsequently subjected to a tirade of abuse and threats via email and on BCFC’s forum, which allegedly led to all five stepping down.
The new councillors on the committee approved the scheme last week, despite the planning officer’s recommendation against it; Ferguson, who is head of the Stop Sainsbury’s action group, has stated that this is a direct result of the threat of intimidation.
“There is a strong bias in the local media for this store,” Pip Sheard, a representative of Stop Sainsbury’s, told The Drum.
“Councillors got a tirade of emails and abuse on Bristol City fan forums and everyone knows that it has been stirred up by the Evening Post."
Mike Norton, editor of the Bristol Evening Post, today defended the paper's actions, saying that all the information given was already in the public domain.
“These are publicly accountable figures that are making one of the most important decisions to effect south Bristol for a decade.
“Instead of having them as faceless councillors, we wanted to give the public a chance to look into their eyes. “
He denied that the paper's actions had resulted in any intimidation and suggested that the reason for changing the committee members may have been politically motivated.
“The Lib Dems changed the committee. I don’t know why, but it was nothing to do with intimidation. There is an election coming up and they are afraid that they are going to lose it.”
He said that the paper had provided equal, unbiased coverage to both sides of the issue, but did admit that the paper’s view was that a new stadium in south Bristol would “economically benefit” the area.