WE have not always found ourselves agreeing with Communities Secretary Eric Pickles but he was right yesterday to condemn the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) after it issued new guidance advising councillors not to talk to the press.

In a ludicrous and dangerous move, the NALC urged all parish councils to adopt a new “media policy” which bars councillors from speaking to journalists without the written consent of the whole authority.

This policy would also prevent journalists from contacting councillors directly, forcing them to communicate only through the council clerk. The bonkers bureaucrats go even further – warning those who give comments privately to journalists will be prevented from using the title “councillor”.

It defies belief that an unaccountable body can be quite so short-sighted in a country which supposedly cherishes free speech and democracy. Mr Pickles has described the guidance as “Stalinist” and, hopefully, the guidance will be swiftly chucked in the bin.

Let us remind ourselves that politicians, from parish councils to Westminster, are elected to serve communities. Much as local authorities and governments would like to control the media and write their own headlines, they cannot be allowed to stifle free speech.

It is impractical to expect councillors to be bound by so much red tape that they are unable to respond quickly to questions in the public interest about the communities they serve.

There are already councils in the North-East which have tried to insist that councillors should not be contacted directly by journalists.

We have politely refused to comply and we will continue to do so.

The National Association of Local Councils is naive if it thinks it can put a lid on constructive relationships which have existed between councillors and journalists for generations.