Police fail to ensure newspaper delivery vans can exit Essex printing plant

Protestors in Essex inadvertently prevented newspapers being distributed in parts of southern England yesterday.
By The Newsroom
Published 30th Aug 2022, 00:44 BST
Updated 30th Aug 2022, 12:27 BST
The newspapers had been printed at a plant in Thurrock, in Essex, at an industrial complex which was targetted by fuel protestorsThe newspapers had been printed at a plant in Thurrock, in Essex, at an industrial complex which was targetted by fuel protestors
The newspapers had been printed at a plant in Thurrock, in Essex, at an industrial complex which was targetted by fuel protestors

(Scroll all the way down for a link to an editorial about this)

Loaded paper delivery vans were barred from leaving the Thurrock print plant due to the environmental demonstration on Sunday night.

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The protest was part of a fuel campaign and not aimed at the press. But the result was that The News, a daily newspaper in Portsmouth (and owned by National World, owner of the News Letter), could not be delivered to its readers.

The News, a daily newspaper in Portsmouth, was unable to be delivered to its readers on the south coast of EnglandThe News, a daily newspaper in Portsmouth, was unable to be delivered to its readers on the south coast of England
The News, a daily newspaper in Portsmouth, was unable to be delivered to its readers on the south coast of England

The editor of the title, Mark Waldron, said Essex Police and Thurrock Council need to explain why police closed a key access road to the site to all but what they deemed as ‘priority traffic’, but did not include paper deliveries in that.

Mr Waldron said: “I can only apologise to all our readers and advertisers for the lack of The News yesterday. This was due to circumstances well out of our control and a protest which was not specifically targeting us, but which we fell victim to.”

He said that as a result of the protest police denied access to and from the industrial site to all but ‘priority’ vehicles: “I’m told police were happy to let oil tankers and food delivery vans through but not The News drivers. Why was it deemed safe and reasonable for some vehicles and not others? This is simply nonsensical. It also flies in the face of the government’s position that newspapers provide an essential service to readers and so we should have been treated accordingly. At the start of the pandemic journalists covering the Covid-19 crisis were rightly given the status of key workers as it was recognised the continued flow of information was vital to people’s lives.

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“But The News is not just here in times of emergency. Since 1877 we have been informing our readers across our patch of what is happening, giving them the information they need, keeping them entertained and ensuring we play a part in bringing communities together.”

Police let oil tankers and food delivery vans through but not vans carrying newspapers. It flew in the face of the government's position, stated during the pandemic, that newspapers provide an essential service to readersPolice let oil tankers and food delivery vans through but not vans carrying newspapers. It flew in the face of the government's position, stated during the pandemic, that newspapers provide an essential service to readers
Police let oil tankers and food delivery vans through but not vans carrying newspapers. It flew in the face of the government's position, stated during the pandemic, that newspapers provide an essential service to readers

Thurrock Council did not respond to a request for information, while Essex Police did not respond to a question about who decided what was deemed priority traffic.

• Editorial: Chief constables should steer their officers back towards the basics of policing

Related topics:PoliceEssexEngland