LET’S be clear straight away. The wishes of the relatives of victims of the Shoreham Airshow tragedy should always be paramount.

Sunday’s memorial service for victims at Lancing College should be dignified and profound, a chance for relatives to contemplate and remember their terrible losses.

But today The Argus raises a side issue not to detract from the service but to ask questions about local accountability.

Local media has not been invited to the memorial, an organising committee headed by MP for East Worthing and Shoreham Tim Loughton has decided.

A BBC radio broadcast is to be permitted and a reporter from the London-based Press Association will be allowed in to supply a report to interested other media.

The bond between a local community and its newspaper is a profound one. It is sometimes fractured but always repaired. It is based on trust.

During the Shoreham tragedy The Argus and others had relationships with many relatives who wanted the community to know how special their lost one was.

In return this newspaper sought to do what it is here for. To record the first draft of history, as journalism is often described.

Mixed messages from those close to the committee were received in response to our questions about how the decision not to invite selected local media was made.

Firstly it was said all relatives had been asked for their views. We know this to be inaccurate as some have told us they were unaware and would have liked The Argus to be there to record events.

Now it is said relatives who are attending have been told the media arrangements and have agreed. That, by the way, is a far cry from a proper consultation. Our motivation in raising this issue is simple. We seek only to do our job accurately and as sensitively as possible.

Good journalism can bind a community together. This might have been such an occasion. We believe Mr Loughton and his committee have been too heavy handed here, a situation which sadly is becoming all too common in the handling of media these days.

That said it is time to draw the line under the issue. We continue to wish the relatives of victims well and will continue our own efforts to keep the memories of their lost loved ones alive.