A Reform-led council has been accused of attacking press freedom after it banned a journalist who revealed a story about a pensioner who won a legal battle with the authority over her garden gate.

Derbyshire County Council has decided to ‘end engagement’ with local democracy reporter Eddie Bisknell, saying it had ‘concerns’ over his reporting.

It comes after Mr Bisknell revealed the case of Helene Ball, an 81-year-old retired teacher who won a three-year, £50,000 fight over the right to walk through her back gate.

The council was heavily criticised by a judge over the ‘pugnacious’ case and sparked further outrage when it dumped giant concrete ‘Lego’ blocks outside Mrs Ball’s home following her victory.

Mr Bisknell is one of 165 local reporters funded by the BBC to cover local politics. His work appears in the Derby Telegraph as well as the Derbyshire Times.

His story about Mrs Ball was later covered by national newspapers, including the Daily Mail.

Announcing the ban in a press release, deputy council leader Councillor Stephen Reed said they had ‘lost confidence’ in Mr Bisknell’s reporting following what they claim is a ‘prolonged period of concerns regarding reporting standards, accuracy, balance and professional conduct’.

The case follows that of neighbouring Nottinghamshire County Council – also under control of Reform UK – which banned Nottingham Post reporters following a row over a story on local government reorganisation.

In an interview with BBC Radio Derby Cllr Reed was specifically critical of Mr Bisknell’s story about Mrs Ball, saying it shouldn’t have been published because it related to ‘ongoing legal proceedings’.

He claimed the council had only been given four hours to respond to allegations it had ‘bullied’ Mrs Ball and added that the result was a story that was ‘at worst irresponsible and at best an editorial opinion without all the facts’.

Derbyshire Reform later said the decision to end engagement with Mr Bisknell is not an outright ‘ban’ on engaging with local news, but any requests for comment or information from the reporter specifically will not be met with a response.

Derbyshire Telegraph editor in chief Natalie Fahy refuted the allegations, pointing to an email giving the council 24 hours to respond and the fact the original story came from a court judgment not an ‘ongoing’ court case.

She said Mr Bisknell had ‘been a bit of a thorn in the council’s side (as any good journalist should be)’ but had not received any complaints about his previous reporting.

She added: ‘We utterly reject this attack on our journalism, stand fully opposed to the false claims made about Eddie’s and our editorial practices and urge Cllr Reed to retract his press releases.’

Criticising the decision, Cllr Alex Dale, leader of the Conservative Group on the council, said: ‘Freedom of the press is an absolute cornerstone of our democracy’ adding that ‘any attack on the freedom of the press is an attack on democracy itself’.

Read More: Outrage after Reform-led council ban journalist who revealed pensioner’s ‘Lego blockade’