The sharp words from the Pentagon Press Association came after Hegseth announced “additional credentialing procedures for press at the Pentagon in the interest of national security.”

Bedevilled by leaks to the media during his short tenure, defence secretary Pete Hegseth issued a series of restrictions on the press late on Friday.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has taken yet another step to curtail the work of the press inside the Pentagon by imposing harsh restrictions on where reporters can go without official escort in a memo released late Friday.