There was a particularly nasty little item HERE on Today this morning. It’s yet another BBC led attack on Murdoch, this time bringing in Chris Mullins and Sheila Gunn – John Major’s former press secretary. Gunn, in particular, used the opportunity to have a go at those bad “right-wingers” and “little Englanders”who gave nice Mr Major such a hard time over Europe. It’s obvious that the BBC has determined that Trinity Newspapers and the Guardian have no questions to answer concerning the integrity of their behaviour and so all wrongs can only ever lead to Murdoch.
ALL WRONGS LEAD TO MURDOCH
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Whatever happened to that story about the hacking investigaion itself being “hacked “.
It was slid out just before the weekend.
It was said to involve a Met officer and something to do with The Guardian if I`m not too far out in my thinking.
Since then…not a peep.
Although Coulsons pay off from NI seemed to bring Peston back off his chaise longue to tell the Today programme what this signifies…that employment laws and redundancy packages don`t just apply to Byford and the tools let down and used as soundbite fodder as at Sheffield Forgemasters(the clue`s in the name!).
Four days since we last saw this poor story wandering through the BBC corridors like a bad smell…anyone seen him?
Got to be a wristband for unwanted and unwelcome stories;hasn`t there?
Mr Peston has updated his latest post with 5 more questions that really need answered by Andy Coulson and/or the Tories.
Evidently severance packages are unknown to Mr Peston. Which doesn’t say much for his credentials as business editor.
Another casting of bread upon the waters Mr V!
It could be seen as nasty…until you think that it is Mullins and Majors minion in conversation with Peter Woods l`il lad here…and then we can allow ourselves the most patronising of smiles!
If these three were huddled together at the water cooler, you`d keep a wide berth. utterly ineffectual and full of “l`esprit d`escalier” as Bridget Kendall might say.
Mullins-a cut price Alan Clark, and popinjay on Labours spade.
Gunn-a spud gun, water pistol to the Milky Bar Kid had he been admitted to the MCC.
L`il Justin…preferred to Ed Stourton…fearsome calibre, then!
This lot are party poppers Mr Vance…all spent sparklers, but have no-one worthwhile to talk to in bed…so where else to get a free croissant but the BBC.
As long as Prescotts not got in there first!
I feel “intensely relaxed” about this one…that the BBCs monopoly is not to be referred to; makes it the only thing I want Rupert and his lovely family to major on from now on!
A rush and a push?…
On the same day two earily similar if not identical smear stories come out from the guardian and the BBC.
On the open thread I posted links to the two smear stories and they look almost identical with the same links to each other, the same choice of weasel word games to inflate the story well beyond its true value.
Essentially the BBC and the guardian have come out with the same planned smear against Coulson, was it to take the heat off the guardian? Put the spotlight back on NO/Cameron/Coulson in order to hide the fact that the guradian is guilty of hacking and the bribery of public officials?
On hearing the latest BBC line on Coulson – up there in the headlines every half-hour through the night on the World Service along with war and chaos in Tripoli – my first thought was :
“Employee receives severance package as contracted, payments made in line with when his salary would have been due”
Big deal !!! – well worth telling the whole World about.
The BBC including Peston know damn well that there is nothing whatsoever unusual in the payments being made as per the employee’s contract or subsequent termination negotiations. It happens to many many thousands of people every year. But they did not say there was nothing unusual. Which shows peradventure that there is malevolent intent at the BBC.
The Tories will continue to do nothing about it and thoroughly deserve the whirlwind they reap. Unfortunately the rest of us have to live with the consequences.
I caught the last half of the Today item. What struck me was the complete lack of self-awareness in having a discussion on the BBC bemoaning the effect that a few newspapers might have, whilst ignoring the colossus that bestrides the British media, stifling dissenting voices, choking competition and setting the agenda for each day’s news. And which we are compelled to pay for, unlike the ghastly rags which they were attacking.
As witnessed by the furious promoting of the apparent wrongs involved in a severance package.
The BBC is stamping down hard on comments on Robert Pestons blog, my comment was censored straight away, wouldnt even go through to the moderation queue. Possibly an automodbot sensing the dreaded two word combination that the BBC do not want to see on their site.
‘BBC/Guardian’.
Thats it, all you need to be censored out of the BBC website, the comments section is full of comments blocked/banned/refered to censors. Funnily enough every pro BBC comment makes it straight onto the comments section judging by the time stamps and only hostile questions are censored out. The BBC just cannot help being squalid Marxist bigots can they?
The narrative being spun by Today, for those that cannot bring themselves to listen to the link, is that John Major tried to achieve a consensus with Labour over stopping the perceived political influence of Murdoch. Evan Davies prefaced the ‘discussion’ with this view, but the only evidence produced is that Labour MP Mullins says in his memoir that Major considered then decided against banning non-EU citizens from owning UK media organisations, due to the fact they were not paying enough tax. So as laboured an inference of Major’s motives as can be imagined. Why not get on to the programme, say, John Major? No, let’s have Mullins on to promote his book instead.
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The killer throwaway assumption that I loved was made by Sheila Gunn explaining why Major and co may have been concerned over non-British citizens who own British media outlets. This was because of the Euroscepticism in the press at the time, and that non-British citizens could not have the best interests of Britain at heart!!!! So, to be clear, no true British citizen could be opposed to the EU.
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While I’m at it, did anyone else hear the reporter on News 24 the other day discussing the candidates for Met Police Commissioner. In passing he said ‘Hugh Orde, very popular with the public….’ Orde is of course the BBC’s candidate for the role. Anyone care to quantify that popularity? Would 9/10s of the public be able to identify him by name or photo, or a single one of his achievements?
Thank you for that elucidation, Carruthers.
Paxman on Newsnight to his ‘reporter’ (ie reader-outer) vis-a-vis Coulson’s severance payments.
“So why is this important?” (ie tell the listeners why this is important.)
Jeremy, mate, it’s not important OK. And, god knows, I’m not a violent man, but you ever point your finger at me in that patronising way you do, I’ll chin you.
Under oath:
“Do you promise to tell the Murdoch, the whole Murdoch, and nothing but the Murdoch, so help you God?”
bBC:
“I do”
The hysteria over Andy Coulson is getting out of hand
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/davidhughes/100101888/the-hysteria-over-andy-coulson-is-getting-out-of-hand/
“Forget the high drama of Libya where a tyrant is being toppled. The story that’s really getting people agitated is the remuneration enjoyed by a former newspaper editor. Andy Coulson’s pay-off deal with News International was revealed by Robert Peston (who else) on the BBC’s Ten O’Clock News last night. It turns out that, horror of horrors, Coulson was paid some of his severance package after signing up in July 2007 as the Conservative Party’s director of communications (salary £275,000).”