Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell thanked the media on Wednesday night for all the “fair and balanced” coverage since the summer – joking that between them they had kept journalists in a job.

Describing the traditional Christmas drinks gathering of Westminster journalists and the Labour leadership team as an “unexpected, unusual and on one level yours and my worst nightmare”, the Labour leader took the chance to mock a number of papers for their coverage of late.

He gave special thanks to the Daily Mail for “over-analysing” his Christmas card, blamed The Sun for having to leave early because he had “bowing lessons” and urged cameramen outside his north London house not to step on the bulbs growing in his front garden.

There was a special shout-out to The Independent because he reads it every morning, he said, and it “tells me what I’m thinking”.

But in a bid to bridge the gap between him and the media he revealed he was a member of the National Union of Journalists in order to stand up for freedom of speech and to ensure coverage is “fair and not reliant solely on personal attacks on individuals”.

In an appeal for journalists to respect his front garden, Corbyn said: “Just to let you know, I don’t do any interviews whatsoever, ever, never outside my front door.

“If you come there, it’s absolutely fine – don’t tread on the bulbs in the front, they’re growing well – global warming means the bulbs are coming up earlier so we’re doing fine there.”

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell then stood up and wished everyone a happy Christmas and joked: “I look forward to you coming back and covering us in the fair and balanced way that you’ve done up until now”.