Journalists in Cornwall trying to cover a visit by the gaffe-prone Prime Minister were today locked in a room by Tory press officers.

Local media were invited to a factory in St Ives that Theresa May was visiting with the local Tory MP Derek Thomas.

But the Cornwall Live website has revealed that its reporters were:

Banned from standing outside the factory to witness May’s arrival

Locked inside a room by May’s media team during her tour of the shop floor

Given just three minutes of the PM’s time and prevented from film their interview or taking photos

We were locked in room and banned from filming @theresa_may – tight media control from the @Conservatives https://t.co/fpF3UAIEBy pic.twitter.com/M9tGECzUOd — Cornwall LIVE (@CornwallLive) May 2, 2017

All of this is presumably to avoid a repeat of the clanger May dropped on a visit to a factory in Derby when she couldn’t remember where she was:

She has no idea where she is. Literally pic.twitter.com/m4EN3CN5F0 — Ross Crombie (@RossCrombie) April 27, 2017

Giving their verdict on the Tories’ approach to press freedom, one Cornwall Live journalist wrote:

“Having covered several high-profile politicians’ and royal visits over the years, the level of media control here is far and above anything I’ve seen before. We’re not even allowed to show you her visiting the building.”

It’s no wonder the UK has slipped down the World Press Freedom Index since May became Prime Minister.

But the Tory spinners have got bigger problems back in London where the first edition of the Evening Standard under George Osborne’s editorship has landed:

The front page editorial concludes:

“There’s nothing wrong with repeating election campaign slogans; the problem comes when the election campaign amounts to no more than a slogan. If you ask for a blank cheque, don’t be surprised if later it bounces.”

The only thing “strong and stable” in Cornwall today was the door those journalists were locked behind…