Councillors are taking a newspaper to the press watchdog citing ‘harassment’ after it tried to question them about the provision of free meals before meetings.

As reported by HTFP in April, the Impartial Reporter revealed that Fermanagh and Omagh district council members were tucking into chicken curry, quiche and chips, beef stew and other delights at the taxpayer’s expense.

A reporter and photographer from the paper subsequently tried to question them about the issue and photographed them as they arrived for a meeting.

Now the council is taking the matter to the Independent Press Standards Organisation after claiming in an email that questioning and photographing councillors on their way to a meeting constitutes “persistent pursuit” under the Editor’s Code.

The Reporter’s original expose – published under the headline ‘Gravy Train’ – revealed that council members had taken a secret vote to increase the provision of ratepayer-funded food before meetings.

Editor Rodney Edwards was then accused of ‘fat shaming’ after a cartoon accompanying the story on an inside page depicted the councillor who had proposed the move, Sinn Fein’s Sheamus Greene, as the Very Hungry Caterpillar.

The council subsequently launched an investigation in a bid to find out who had leaked the story about the secret vote to the newspaper.

In an email to councillors, which has also been leaked to the newspaper, the Council claims that questioning and photographing councillors on their way to a meeting constituted “persistent pursuit” in contravention of Clause 3 of the Editor’s Code.

The clause was originally inserted into the code in the wake of the death of Princess Diana in 1997 while being pursued by paparazzi.

It states that journalists must not engage in “intimidation, harassment or persistent pursuit” or to “persist in questioning, telephoning, pursuing or photographing individuals once asked to desist.”

Rodney declined to comment further on the issue.  He previously said: “While we will fully cooperate with the IPSO investigation, it’s important to emphasise that our coverage was not intended to malign or provoke.”

A spokesperson for the council told HTFP: “It is the Council’s understanding that in the event that a complaint has been made, the process is confidential in order to allow IPSO to effectively investigate the complaint.”