THERE was widespread uproar on Wednesday when Laura Kuenssberg, the BBC's political editor, revealed that Omar Salem, the father who took on Boris Johnson over hospital cuts after his daughter required treatment, was also a Labour Party activist.

A journalist's job is to find out as much as we can about a story, including everything we can about the people involved.

It is a perfectly acceptable position to be a Labour activist and a worried father with a sick child, being one should not disqualify a person from being the other.

But at the same time, the fact he is a Labour activist is relevant to the story.

Mr Salem will have been aware that someone would work out he is a Labour activist, whether a journalist or a member of the public, especially given his very vocal presence on Twitter, with more than 14,000 followers and a bio stating that he is campaigning "against Brexit and for a socialist Europe".

Mr Salem was well within his rights to hold the government to account on the state of the NHS, even more so when you factor in his daughter's condition, but the public has a right to know the full picture of why he was talking to the Prime Minister at that time.

If a journalist finds out information like the fact he is a party activist, which isn't even difficult to find out, then they have to report it.

If Laura Kuenssberg had kept quiet, the same questions would have been raised about Mr Saleem's political allegiance, whether from her or from someone else.

The other thing to recognise is that, if she kept quiet, questions would be asked of her as to whether she knew or whether she bothered to check.

If anything, Mr Salem's exchange with the Prime Minister was appropriately uncomfortable for Mr Johnson, who said "there's no press here" despite the hospital visit being a press briefing with several cameras present.

It has been a tough week for journalism, with stories about Ben Stokes' family history and Gareth Thomas' parents being told of his HIV by a tabloid reporter, but in this case, Laura Kuenssberg did her job, and did it properly.

It is not being partisan to simply lay out the facts of who Mr Saleem is.