Category Archives: Labour apologists

Via Conservative Home, this story from The Times (£):

“In an interview with The Times, Paul Maynard, the Conservative MP for Blackpool North & Cleveleys, described an incident in which some Labour MPs made faces, stretching their cheeks up and down as he spoke. It appeared to be an attempt to mimic him…”

(See also Telegraph, Mail, Press Association)

Whoever wrote the copy for the final newspaper review on this morning’s Today programme decided one particular detail wasn’t worth mentioning. Here’s how Evan Davis told it – see if you can spot what’s missing:

“The Times says the Conservative MP Paul Maynard has been mocked by colleagues in the House of Commons because he’s disabled. Mr Maynard has cerebral palsy and he tells the paper MPs appeared to pull faces to mimic him as he spoke in a debate. He says that carrying on regardless was one of the hardest things he’s had to do. The Times says MPs of all parties have condemned the general behaviour in the commons as cruel and despicable…”

There’s a similar omission in the BBC’s online paper review (h/t Craig):

The Times has Tory MP Paul Maynard, who has cerebral palsy, saying he was mocked by MPs during a Commons debate.
He says they pulled faces at him, and the paper calls it a “scandal”.

As Craig points out in the open thread, this brief item in the paper review is thus far the only mention of the story on the BBC website. There is, however, room for yet more Alastair Campbell-related publicity.

The BBC would be treating this very differently if Tories had been accused of mocking a disabled Labour MP.

UPDATE 4pm. NotaSheep and Span Ows point out in the comments that the phrase “mocked by colleagues” in the Today paper review goes further than merely covering for the Labour MPs involved by creating the impression that fellow Conservatives could be to blame. And Hippiepooter reminds us that when a non-entity Tory activist (not an MP) sent an email to a Tory councillor (not an MP) in Bradford in which he called a Labour agent “a cripple”, Newsnight led with it (here’s then editor Peter Barron’s response to the ensuing criticism.)

Many people arefollowing Andrew Gilligan’s reports in the Telegraph concerning the mayoralelections in Tower Hamlets….all except the BBC who have overlooked thisscandal completely.

Why might that be? Is it because Lutfur Rahman, Labour’s candidate, is a Muslimclosely connected to extremists and that he was likely to win and take controlof the £1bn budget? Does this not play to the BBC message that the small numberof extremists represent no danger and that there is no realistic chance of themtaking any power? Lutfur Rahman has now been reported to the police for election irregularitiesand Labour have removed him as their candidate.

(By contrast the BBC are quite happy to report on an American Republican 5000 miles away who saysshe used to “dabble” in witchcraft.)


Financial irregularities, vote rigging, police action and removal as a candidate. 


And yet still the BBC do not report this story, on our own doorstep, not evenin the London page of their website.