Cameron and Osborne right to shun the media

There seems to be growing discontent that the Prime Minister hasn't made himself available to the media while attending the G20 summit in Cannes. Similar sentiments have been expressed about George Osborne by certain parts of the media, miffed that he has 'only' given one interview (to BBC Radio 4 Today) in the past days.

Normally, and particularly in a crisis situation, I would recommend that the media are constantly updated on events so the news stream isn't filled with speculation and ill-informed comment. This time the Prime Minister and the Chancellor are right. The situation is so dynamic and so fluid that every time they provided comment to the media it could be overtaken by events very quickly. In this context they break one of the golden rules when speaking to the media: don't speculate.

Some will continue to chunter from the sidelines but, until the picture becomes clearer, I believe David Cameron and George Osborne are right to say as little as possible and concentrate instead on reaching a deal which is right for the UK.