{"id":4237,"date":"2021-12-14T07:45:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-14T07:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/?p=4237"},"modified":"2022-01-26T08:08:29","modified_gmt":"2022-01-26T08:08:29","slug":"ten-journalists-in-a-wine-cellar-with-the-defence-secretary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.declassifieduk.org\/ten-journalists-in-a-wine-cellar-with-the-defence-secretary\/","title":{"rendered":"Ten journalists in a wine cellar with the defence secretary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One Wednesday night last January, journalists from some of Britain\u2019s biggest newspapers and TV channels turned up at the Ministry of Defence (MOD) headquarters in London. Upon arrival they were taken underground to a Tudor-era wine cellar used by Henry VIII.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After descending to the very foundations of Whitehall, they met defence secretary Ben Wallace. They were not there for a press conference, but an informal, off the record drinks reception. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was a gathering of the Defence Correspondents Association (DCA). It\u2019s a select club that includes reporters from: BBC, Sky News, ITV, The Sun, Daily Mail, The Times, Telegraph, Guardian, Mirror, Independent, Evening Standard <\/em>and the Financial Times<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emails between the group and the MOD have been obtained by Declassified<\/em> under the Freedom of Information Act. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In one email, the MOD\u2019s chief communications officer told the group\u2019s then chair Lucy Fisher, who was defence editor for The Times<\/em>: \u201cAs you know, we try and hold regular drinks with the DCA and Defence Secretary so you have a chance to speak to him in a more informal environment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reporters who attended the drinks reception were not allowed to take notes. One email stressed \u201cthe usual caveats about it being off the record etc.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At first the MOD censored the names of the journalists who attended the wine cellar event to protect their privacy. Declassified<\/em> successfully appealed on the grounds that ministers should not give secret hospitality to favoured journalists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Members of the DCA in January 2020 included a who\u2019s who of British defence journalists:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

- Jonathan Beale\/BBC\n- Alistair Bunkall\/Sky News (Now covers Middle East and has left DCA)\n- Carl Dinnen\/ITV  \n- Lucy Fisher\/The Times<\/em>\n- Larisa Brown\/Daily Mail<\/em> (Now at The Times<\/em> and Sunday Times<\/em>)\n- David Willetts\/The Sun<\/em>\n- Dan Sabbagh\/Guardian<\/em>\n- Kim Sengupta\/Independent<\/em>\n- Helen Warrell\/Financial Times<\/em>\n- Dominic Nicholls\/Telegraph<\/em>\n- Robert Fox\/Evening Standard<\/em> \n- Chris Hughes\/Daily Mirror<\/em>\n- John Ingham\/Daily Express<\/em>\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
In the club<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The DCA was founded in 1992<\/a> by an anxious defence reporter at the Daily Telegraph<\/em>, Peter Almond. He was concerned editors had lost interest in the military after the Cold War and specialist defence correspondents were being sacked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By 2000, Almond had grown frustrated with the group\u2019s lack of access to the military, complaining that the \u201csecrecy culture within the MOD [was] too strong to make more than just a small dent in media relations.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since then the DCA has come and gone. The current version was apparently revived by Fisher at a meeting with colleagues from the Mirror<\/em> and The Sun<\/em> in the Frontline Club in London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One journalist in the group, who spoke to Declassified<\/em> on condition of anonymity, downplayed its importance: \u201cWhether the DCA existed or not there would be ministerial drinks, it\u2019s a pretty standard thing. There\u2019s a WhatsApp group that would exist anyway. It\u2019s not massively active. We have a social once or twice a year. There\u2019s no money involved, no one pays a subscription.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n