It doesn’t matter if they are Conservatives, Labour, Lib-Dems – whatever. The fact is that the sheer greed of the political caste at Westminster is truly monstrous. Playing within the rules that they set, and that they policed, the enthusiasm with which they have ripped US off knows few limits. But how do you think the BBC is covering the issue? With The Telegraph providing us with details of how Conservative MP’s have had their snouts in the trough of taxpayer funded largesse, do you detect a difference in BBC reporting?
When this news broke last week and it was Labour’s dirty little expense secrets that were revealed, the BBC narrative was all about how this damaged our confidence in politicians. Instantly the issue became outward looking and was presented in terms of lost public respect for politicians. But now it is Conservative expenses the spotlight is all about the Conservatives – firmly fixed inwards. The other aspect is there is a tone difference in how this is reported. Don’t you think there was a sense of dismay when the Labour skeletons fell out of the expenses closet, whereas this last few days there is an evident delight at being able to expose the folly of the Conservatives – with a dash of class war envy thrown in.
Yes it was interesting to see how Michael Prick on Newsnight had a go at the Tories in a way Newsnight didn’t have a go at Liebour or Gordon Brown in particular.
The BBC were whining for days about the Telegraph only going after Liebour Ministers, but now the BBC are in free for all with the Tories and endless references to the 1990’s and Tory sleaze.
So why not mention Liebour sleaze then? Cash for honours, cash for F1, the Iraq war and so on?
Oh and Radio 5 have been going on all morning about the bad news that Cocaine is going up in price on the streets. Looks like a big TV licence fee hike will be needed than.
Lord Foulkes gave an awesome rant on the Today program about how the BBC have no moral authority in the MP expenses story because they abuse the public purse just as badly:
“How much are the people in the BBC being paid? John Humphrys and Jeremy Paxman with their sneering questions. We are paying hundreds of thousands for presenters who sneer at out politics and democracy. I’m not defending these MPs – they are wrong – but think it’s about times you focus on more important things. Listeners will find it hard to listen to lectures about saving from people who are doing these things. What a lot of nonsense you are talking. A lot of money is being spent on prisons, healthcare…You are not sorry to interrupt. You interrupt politicians. Never focus on what good work they do. How much do you earn? My salary is £92k and every call I make is from my own phone. Vast majority of MPs are being undermined by you. You are paid a lot more to do a lot less work.”
Sweet
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if this was the beginning of the end to the love-in between the BBC and NuLab. Maybe it is too much to hope for.
cary gracie reveals her 92000 pound salary on air
Well like it or not the BBC/labour message that “all this is within the rules and so is just fine” is getting through. Had a chat with a colleague who’s attitude is that the MPs are only “playing the expenses system just like we all do”
Mind you this colleague listens to nicky campbell radio programs so she is obviously just another unthinking sheep.
BBC World service was even trumpeting the “frugal” lifestyle of some Liebour ministers.
-as supplement to ‘Liberitarian’ 11:33 am:
‘Wikipedika’
re: BBC’s CARRIE GRACIE-
[Extract]
“In October 2008, she was presented with the first Nick Clarke Award for her interview with BBC journalist Alan Johnston, who was kidnapped by the Palestinean Army of Islam in 2007.
“In an interview with George Foulkes, Baron Foulkes of Cumnock on BBC News Channel (12 May 2009) about the MPs’ expenses controversies, Gracie was asked how much she earned. When she boasted that her salary is £92,000, Foulkes accused her of being paid nearly twice as much as Members of Parliament (£64,000) to ‘talk nonsense’ and ‘undermine politicians’ without mentioning the constituency work done by MPs.
“Personal life:
Gracie is a fluent Mandarin speaker. She has two children with Chinese rock star Jin (born 1958): Rachel, born in 1996, and Daniel, born in 1998. The children both spent a term in a Chinese school.”
As Shaz notes Lord Foulkes was in indignation mode this morning. So indignant was he that he defended the indefensible Speaker Martin (whose only reaction to this whole business is to call in – or support the calling in – of the Met to investigate the leak which led to the outing of the troughing classes) and attacked Kate Hoey – one of the few Labour MPs who actually has a “moral compass”. Fowkes also kept interrupting Norman Baker (one of the few good guys – so far – in this debacle) who tried to point out how useless Speaker Martin is – and always was. No BBC bias here I’m afraid although Naughtie could have shut Foulkes up and let Baker speak uninterrupted for more than 10 seconds at a time.
I wonder if some MPs might now publish the pay levels of beeboids?
bbc radio lancashire news has been leading with …’David Cameron in manure claim apology’.It then goes on to highlight that it was not David Cameron at all,but another Conservative MP.Not only blatant bias but blatant lying!
Yes, Umbongo, Shaz, George R, Libertarian and Uncle Tom Cobley, isn’t it gruesome when you can’t even adopt your enemy’s enemy as your friend?
No one is safe these days! Hah! I’m inclined to wish a plague on both yer houses, that’s ‘of parliament’ and ‘broadcasting’
Go! Lord Foulkes, defender of the indefensible! As Delia Smith would say “Let’s be ‘avin’ ya!”
That’s entertainment!
Three cheers for Norman Baker Kate Hoey and and those with moral objections to ‘playing the system.’
George Galloway was one of the top expense-claimants I recall, and the MP with the fewest attendances at Westminster to boot. Not to mention his fees from the BBC and C4. Probably all goes straight to Hamas.
Rats sniping at ferrets… wouldn’t it be grand of the vile, cheating politicians and the stinking, repellent BBC perished in the same enferno?
BBC Radio 5 putting the knife into The Tories again.
The BBC fail to point out that these Tory expenses were approved by the fees office and therefore “within the rules” which was the standard phrase used by Liebour scum like Blears and co.
What about the female Liebour MP that used her expenses to do up her south coast shagging palace?
Oh you can’t pick on her, she’s WOMAN and beyond reproach as is Blears.
Just evil Tory men.
Just watch the lunchtime BBC News. Completely anti Tory about despite Cameron taking action to make MPs pay back money it will make no difference to people thinking that Tory sleaze is back.
No mention that Brown has so far done nothing about cleaning up the Labour party and making his MPs pay back any money
Shaz and George R –
We must view things slightly differently if you thought that rant of his was ‘awesome’. His defence was essentially that the public should be grateful for all the work MPs do and stop moaning. How admirable – what’s she think she’s doing even asking such questions!
As for her ‘boasting’ that she earned £92,000 – that’s complete rubbish as anyone who watches the clip can see. Fair play to her for being honest.
It just shows how desperate and opportunist some here are to tack anything possible to the BBC if it means worshipping such an odious man, who I believe in most other circumstances would be viewed in a different light.
And to think one of the biggest criticisms of the left is their tendency towards ‘enemy of my enemy’ knee-jerkism.
Richard: Sorry but there is a lot of hypocrisy from the BBC. The BBC takes under threat of imprisonment 3.5 billion a year and then uses that money to pay useless left wing twats huge salaries.
At least we can vote corrupt politicians out of power. We can’t do anything about the BBC.
92K for some tart to read the news is far too much. Who sets BBC salaries?
If I’d been on Newsnight last night I’d be asking Paxman about his 1 million + salary the books he writes (just where do the profits go on those sales by the way?) and does HE think that people on minimum wage should be funding his lifestyle (and his Polish housekeeper) under threat of prison?
I’m not sticking up for the politicians I despise most of them just like I do almost all beeboids.
Wankers like Paxman, Marr, Robinson that continually peddle Government spin as fact need to be sacked.
Martin, I fully understand what you are saying, but you think this means they shouldn’t be asking these questions? If they weren’t they’d be being criticised for being soft for the very same reason. This presenter must have known she’d get some flack for her admission, whether it’s a unreasonable salary or not (I don’t know, and think that it shouldn’t deter them from asking such questions even if it is).
Richard: I’d be happy if the BBC were open about salaries and expenses itself. The BBC is a public body yet is the ONLY one that you cannot find out what a person gets paid.
Why?
When I was in the forces every year my salary was paraded across the media including the BBC. Same applies to the Police, Nurses, Teachers and so on. So why is the BBC not included?
I’ll tell you why, because the BBC leftists would find it very hard to attack the bankers or rich Tories if it turned out beeboids were paid even more.
Why do they bring out Stephen Fry to say it’s not important? And he’s sticking with that Labour Peer’s narrative that it’s ridiculous for journalists to even be talking about it.
The word is out to make sure the public doesn’t get too upset about this. It’s only because far more Labour bigs are in it. If it was only or mostly Tories, Fry and Labour Peers wouldn’t be attacking journalists. Wagons are circling, but they’re shooting inwards rather than outwards.
'Evening Standard'
Emma Duncan:
"News is being strangled by BBC's web"
[Extract] –
[The BBC] "spends £145 million a year of licence-fee payers' money on it" [its website]. "According to Paul Zwillenberg of OC&C consultants, all Britain's national newspapers put together spend around £100 million on their online efforts. And the BBC's website is, of course, free, which makes it tricky for less well-funded competitors to start charging.
"If the BBC is allowed to go on dominating online news it will undermine other news providers' ability to survive on the internet, and thus threaten the diversity of news sources that is crucial to a democracy."
I don’t know whether this is BBC bias in support of Labour, or just the uselessness of Labour MPs, but this report listing the fiddled expenses of leading politicians has a glaring imbalance.
They list 10 Conservatives. I’m assuming it’s because they’re not in power that it’s only 10 compared to 28 Labour people. For each pol listed, there’s a brief outline of the problematic claim(s), and each pol gets a word of defense. Three quarters of the Labour pols have some variation on “it’s within the rules” in their defense, either in a direct quote from them or a spokesman, or as an attribution or summary. But the vast majority of them have something about “within the rules”.
Of the ten Tories, only one of them had any mention of being within the rules. The rest were defenses of why they made the claims, and that they shouldn’t be a problem. The difference in the wording between the Labour defenses and the Conservatives is telling. I’m looking at this in the context of having heard Nick Robinson and a couple of Labour voices take this line all morning.
My favorites were Shaun Woodward and Ben Bradshaw, who just openly stated that the rules were the problem, not them.
Martin
Great posts , well said !
Think you are maybe wasting you time with Richard.
I propose you as the next Speaker Martin.
There is meant to be a no-confidence vote next week to try and get rid of the corrupt, stupid, dishonest, Michael Martin, so the job may be up for grabs !
BBC Salaries should be exposed.
BBC expenses and perks should be exposed.
BBC index linked pensions should be exposed.
It is no surprise that the BBC is unsure how to deal with MP’s expenses story when it has a lot of skeletons in it’s own cupboard.
92K? Carrie Who?
Can you imagine how much the BBC would think of paying her if people actually knew who the hell she was?
92K? Carrie Who?
Can you imagine how much the BBC would think of paying her if people actually knew who the hell she was?
The time must be ripe for the politically fearless BBC to extend its reporting of corruption of British MPs’ expenses to the European arena, just prior to the June E.U. elections.
To start the ball rolling again, here is an extract from a piece in
‘caligulas palace’ (28/02/08):
‘EU MEPs: Are they all corrupt?’
“The Daily Telegraph are reporting here that corruption on a massive scale takes place at the EU parliament. The report starts:
“A secret European Parliament report has uncovered ‘extensive, widespread and criminal abuse’ by Euro-MPs of staff allowances worth almost £100 million a year.”
Tebbit has some sound advice:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8045250.stm
The BBC spouting more bollocks “Chinks of light” for the economy.
Tell that to the nearly 250,000 people that lost their job in ONE MONTH
The BBC are an effing joke.
It’s not even the top story on the news website!
The BBC spouting more bollocks “Chinks of light” for the economy.
What’s that? More slave labour chinese illegal aliens to flood the UK?
Yet another example of The BBC DELIBERATELY not doing the job, we are forced by LAW to pay them to do.
We ALL know this situation is not new, and is not confined to one political party. If our common sense did not tell us, then surly our experience certainly should.
HOWEVER
We should always ask these types of questions, when ever the media/BBC seem to be getting their teeth into an issue.
WHY NOW?
WHY NOT many years earlier?
WHY NOT EU MP’s?
WHY NOT the BBC itself?
WHY NOT The System in general?
When trying your best to work out the answers yourself, please try to bare the following in mind.
The BBC, is the most corrupted, most dishonest, over paid, powerful, and generously funded, arm of The British and World Establishment, there is. The British and World Establishment being in turn the most evil bunch of criminal psychopaths ever known to mankind, with absolutely no exceptions.
TRUE EVIL and its blood relative Criminal Greed for ABSOLUTE POWER, are like cream. They both rise, and have now risen, to the top.
It has taken many centuries of horrific murder, torture, mayhem, and general nastiness, for these pathologically insane families to get where they are now. They have no intention of throwing their almost infinite wealth and anonymous power away, just as the entire world is now at their feet and mercy.
Which is why we now have the EU in all of its most horrifically undemocratic and corrupt. Basically telling our media, and most especially our BBC, what to do, and more importantly what NOT to do, on an hour by hour basis.
I contend that The BBC is collectively FAR MORE responsible for vile corruption in all high, and some not so high places, as even our so called elected representatives.
I therefore contend, that The BBC is the most public, Public Enemy Number One.
Atlas Shrugged
Yet another example of The BBC DELIBERATELY not doing the job, we are forced by LAW to pay them to do.
We ALL know this situation is not new, and is not confined to one political party. If our common sense did not tell us, then surly our experience certainly should.
HOWEVER
We should always ask these types of questions, when ever the media/BBC seem to be getting their teeth into an issue.
WHY NOW?
WHY NOT many years earlier?
WHY NOT EU MP’s?
WHY NOT the BBC itself?
WHY NOT The System in general?
When trying your best to work out the answers yourself, please try to bare the following in mind.
The BBC, is the most corrupted, most dishonest, over paid, powerful, and generously funded, arm of The British and World Establishment, there is. The British and World Establishment being in turn the most evil bunch of criminal psychopaths ever known to mankind, with absolutely no exceptions.
TRUE EVIL and its blood relative Criminal Greed for ABSOLUTE POWER, are like cream. They both rise, and have now risen, to the top.
It has taken many centuries of horrific murder, torture, mayhem, and general nastiness, for these pathologically insane families to get where they are now. They have no intention of throwing their almost infinite wealth and anonymous power away, just as the entire world is now at their feet and mercy.
Which is why we now have the EU in all of its most horrifically undemocratic and corrupt. Basically telling our media, and most especially our BBC, what to do, and more importantly what NOT to do, on an hour by hour basis.
I contend that The BBC is collectively FAR MORE responsible for vile corruption in all high, and some not so high places, as even our so called elected representatives.
I therefore contend, that The BBC is the most public, Public Enemy Number One.
Atlas Shrugged
Lets just cut out the bs.
The reason the BBC have gone so reticent about the MPs pay and expenses scandal is their pay and expenses are far far worse.
Its hard to come down hard on those when you yourselves are even deeper in the trough.
Same problem for MPs who it turns out were doing the same and worse. Those Conservatives having a go at labour for their lack of moral compass who then it turns out were doing the same smacks of stinking hypocrisy, something the British people like even less than the scumbag trough dipping by all MPs. I’m sure the LibDems will be next, and some of those ‘perfecti’ will turn out to stench even worse.
Better than all of these leaks selectively issued by the print media, I would like to see all ofthe MP’s expenses issued at once now, so we can see for ourselves.
Any chance of the BBC pushing for that?
No fear, they are too scared about their own shanigans;
And they are still beholden to their current master Brownstuff and toadying to their soon to be master Call Me Dave, who the BBC are giving a MUCH easier ride that the other Conservatives.
All that may happen is one bias may be exchanged for another, as it was for the pro Conservative BBC pre Mrs Thatcher.
We don’t want the bias whatever colour it is, the state broadcaster must go!
The biggest problem with the country today is the overwhelming attitude amongst the populace that they matter.
Why do you all think you’re so important?
I don’t mind both sides being given the rough treatment for the expenses claims. However there certainly have been different approaches to reporting this, by the BBC.
When it was Labour the MPs were “defending” and “hitting back” at critics. Now it’s the Tories there’s just extra indignation on the part of the BBC: nice cartoon accompanying Newsnight’s report last night: chandeliers and swimming pools. Oh the grandees must get it in the neck this time.
Same with BBC News 24: outside journalist talked about cost of cleaning the pools. But then when she discussed Moran it was: “oh, yes, but in her defence she does do a lot of work for her constituency” like that matters a flying fig!
I don’t mind both sides being given the rough treatment for the expenses claims. However there certainly have been different approaches to reporting this, by the BBC.
When it was Labour the MPs were “defending” and “hitting back” at critics. Now it’s the Tories there’s just extra indignation on the part of the BBC: nice cartoon accompanying Newsnight’s report last night: chandeliers and swimming pools. Oh the grandees must get it in the neck this time.
Same with BBC News 24: outside journalist talked about cost of cleaning the pools. But then when she discussed Moran it was: “oh, yes, but in her defence she does do a lot of work for her constituency” like that matters a flying fig!
The theme “they’re all at it, hang the lot of them” is not good enough. As old Churchill might have said, democracy is a crap form of government, except the other forms are far worse”
Dave has shown inspirational use of “the moment”. 1. Pay it back or be sacked. 2. Sod the Squirarchy (“Tories Tough on Toffs” – brilliant role reversal – puts Dave on the right foot against Labour Class war – anti-moats and anti-chandeliers. Labour snookered, still spluttering “it was within the rules”
Magnificent watching Labour disintegrate in slo-mo.
I see you offer no evidence for a difference of tone. And that’s because there is none. Having watched tonight’s 10pm news, one could readily make the case that it was pro-Tory. The item led with David Cameron’s response rather than the claims of dodgy claims themselves. And Nick Robinson reported how there was a race in No 10 to catch up with Cameron’s initiative. Exactly the impression the Conservative’s wanted to create.
This is all deeply problematic for Biased-BBC. If the BBC exists to “save Gordon”, then surely it would move into overdrive to protect the Government’s reputation, and look to maximise the damage to its opponents. In fact it has done nothing of the sort.
I’m not myself happy with the BBC’s coverage. I think it has joined in the feeding frenzy with too much gusto, and followed the Telegraph’s agenda too slavishly. So poor journalism perhaps. But counterfactual if anything to the “Save Gordon/Labour” notion that has long been a core part of the B-BBC script.
Will your book have a chapter on this issue? My guess is not.
What a shock. The BBC plsying down the Lib Dems sleaze.
12 out of 60 MPs. But according to that twat Paxman it’s not as bad as the Tories.
So that’s OK then.
Why is the BBC bigging up McSnots announcement when it’s already been admitted that he can’t do what he said. He doesn’t have the authority.
But never mind a convenient soundbite to knock Cameron off the headlines and the BBC obliges- as always.
What a shock. The camp beeboid on News 24 is defending EVERY lib Dem. They made NO attempt to defend ANy Tory last night. I watched the bastards.
Effing wankers.
£92k leaves me breathless. I’d never even heard of her before today. I shudder to think what some of the other beeboids are on.
Martin: “So why is the BBC not included? I’ll tell you why, because the BBC leftists would find it very hard to attack the bankers or rich Tories if it turned out beeboids were paid even more.”
Spot on!!
Parading Stephen Fry around to claim that it’s no big deal is ridiculous- the man is a convicted credit fraudster, hardly a great choice to talk about MP’s expense fraud. You might as well ask Peter Sutcliffe to comment on the Ipswich strangler- “not that big”
Anything to defend Brown’s dying government! And to think we’ve probably got another year of this!!
For Fry, £92K is small beer. The noxious homo is ubiquitous. He’s even doing radio voiceovers.
Putting aside violence, I’d presume that most times the law gets involved is when money ends up in pockets it shouldn’t for reasons that are not acceptable.
Until now, I have not been aware that ‘putting it back’ was deemed a solution smiled upon by the authorities, or society, in the much-loved manner of ‘putting it all behind us’.
I regret to inform the deluded ones that this will not ‘regain my trust’ in any way.
And trying to pool guilt ain’t going to do it for me either, so apologists from all sides trotted out still trying to peddle the ‘we need to change the system’ as an attempted ‘solution’ to a stupid, spun distraction that is their preferred notion of the ‘real problem’ are merely tarring themselves with their more venal colleagues’ brushes. It fools no one.
Apologies not enough. Actions not words. And MPs being dealt with in the same way as the public upon whom they have imposed, so poorly, for so long. End the hypocrisy.
Yet to discuss this on BBC Breakfast with the bouffant and brunette £XXXkgrand inquisitors (“Sorry, I misread what I was told to say”) we get… Kevin Maguire? Again. And by way of ‘balance’… Andrew Pierce. Again.
Just a note about commissar Blears and her pathetic dishonest ploy of waving a cheque for thirteen graand in front of the camera.
It wasnt made out to anyone and even if it was sent to the HMRC authorities all it means is that it may well be treated as an overpayment and sent back as a rebate, the transaction will be secret and nobody could even check whether the cheque has been sent at all, there is no FOI ability to check the payment.
What we see from Blears is a typical magicians bait’N’switch trick, I think something stinks about Blears publicity stunt and the BBC are not so thick that they couldnt see the obvious scam potential, so whats going on?
Blears is engaging in a very cute piece of media trickery here and yet again the BBC are blind to it.
You cannot just send extra cash off to the HRMC and think it clears you of previous fraudulant activities, the plain fact is that if anyone avoids tax liabilities they are commiting a criminal offence and ignorance of the law is no defence is it?
My guess is that Blears will either send the chque off and get a rebate at the end of the year OR she will not send the cheque off at all and it will be so secret that nobody will be able to find out if she did send it off.
THE BBC: WE LIE AND WE CHEAT FOR NEWLABOUR, ITS WHAT WE DO!
Cassandra
You are spot on. As an accountant I can confirm that unless the tax liability is accounted for on an Income Tax Return, the money will sit as a credit on Hazel Blears’ account and be credited against her next tax payment. Plus she will get some interest.
I am not sure when the property was sold but, assuming it was before tax year 2008/09, it should have been declared before now. She would have to declare it on an amended tax return, with interest and penalties due for late disclosure and payment. And quite likely an interest taken by HM Inspector of Taxes in what other items might not have been declared.
‘BANK PREDICTS SLOW ECONOMIC RECOVERY’
Headline, BBC Buisness News 13/05/2009
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8047593.stm
Read it for the REAL story. You couldn’t make that headline up! Or maybe they just did!
Sorry, bit O/T but shows AljaBeeba to still be ‘on message’.
Roland,
Many thanks for the expert intervention, my bullshit detectors started twitching as soon as I saw the cheque with no named recipient.
The common lttle thief could try and pay the cheque to a family member or even to herself via an offshore account and if she was challenged later she could show the statement debit BUT it wouldnt show where the money went, no no no, it stinks of a cheap dishonest media stunt to rescue her pathetic selfish arse in a way that means she doesnt have to repay the thirteen grand!
Now she is what my Yankee friends would call a cheap assed chisseling crook along the lines of of a Costa del Sol timeshare seller, but it also makes clear her contempt for the ordinary hard pressed voter.
Aaaah Haaaa!
Blears makes the cheque payable to her accountant when the cameras have packed up and gone, the money stays there untill its quietly given back to her when the fuss has died down, why didnt she fill the name of the recipient in? thats the question isnt it?
I hope she is outed for this soon.
I’d like to know how much of our money the Beeb paid for a helicopter to fly over the country homes of the Tory so-called “grandees”. Personally I find nothing much grand about any of them, Douglas Hogg is a nasty little twat, but the fact is, I get it, they have big houses in the country. Did the Beeb really need to hire a chopper to fly pointlessly over some patches of our green and pleasant land which may, or may not, be owned by some Tory toffs?
I wish Duncan would defect to Labour. Then the opposition benches could be disinfected.