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Tuesday 30 August 2016

Andrew Gilligan Fails Upwards

No hack or pundit was more useful to the campaigns for the London Mayoralty of former very occasional incumbent Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson than Andrew “transcription error” Gilligan, who spent the best part of Bozza’s 2008 and 2012 sorties denouncing Ken Livingstone as a “liar” while turning a blind eye to inconvenient facts such as Bozza being a serial, er, liar. He was rewarded with a job in the Johnson administration.
Gilligan had already made a name for himself by making claims for his particular brand of journalism that it did not merit: back in 2003, he had almost single-handedly hobbled the BBC not merely by his decision to kick off a fight with Alastair Campbell, but also by his inability to take notes in a fashion which would enable him to stand up his claims before a judicial Inquiry. The BBC disposed of his services soon afterwards.

More recently, Gilligan has been writing scare stories to order on the HS2 project, including two articles claiming that the trains would derail at high speed. The selective nature of his research has been the subject of adverse comment here on Zelo Street - see posts HERE and HERE - although the more easily persuaded part of the Fourth Estate, plus the usual cast of anti-HS2 activists, has duly lapped up his propaganda.

All of that, though, came to an end in May when the purge at the Telegraph extended to include him. Gilligan kept confirmation of his exit from the Buckingham Palace Road bunker quiet, but no more: he will join the Murdoch Sunday Times as a part-time “Senior Correspondent”. And there is rather more in Dominic Ponsford’s report.

Gilligan wrote for the Telegraph part-time whilst also working for London mayor Boris Johnson as his cycling commissioner … At the Sunday Times he will have a brief to work on investigations and exclusive stories. He will be part-time at the title whilst also working for the Policy Exchange think tank”. So does that mean Gilligan has, in the wake of his hero Bozza leaving City Hall, departed from his part-time post there, too?

Perhaps he will be able to rectify the omissions he made after his pal Bozza became London Mayor: as Ponsford tells, “Gilligan joined the Evening Standard in 2004 and won the Press Gazette British Press Award for journalist of the year in 2008 … The BPA judges praised his series of stories revealing allegations of corruption surrounding the office of then-London mayor Ken Livingstone”. But he missed Bozza’s contribution to the genre.

So all the wasted money on the vanity cable car, vanity buses, vanity Garden Bridge, vanity water cannon, and the rest eluded Gilligan. So did the cronyism. That is what the ST’s readers have to look forward to: selective use of facts, recycling of scare stories about HS2, turning a blind eye to that part of the establishment prepared to bung him a sinecure, and a tendency to pretend that everyone else is a liar.

Gilligan might even bring his own fire extinguisher to the Baby Shard bunker. Bring on the combination of fact checkers and burning trousers.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why would Murdoch want to keep him close?

Sometimes, actions can tell the truth.

Do for me. I'll Do for you.

Underground Inspector said...

As the LUL Inspector who gave Andrew Lying Gilligan (sue me Andrew if im lying ��) information about Metronet and the mess it was in I can confirm he is a dog on heat for a story abd will do anything to get it and ruin lives in the process.
He sat at my dining table and took evidence on the promise when Boris Johnson got into office he would get me my job back at LUL. He lied and when I protested peacefully I was charged with alleged threats to kill Boris starting a riot and FTAC claimed I was not Gilligans source for his Metronet Labourers £144.000 a year story and that I had Ideas of Grandeur - my barrister proved all charges were made up to shut me up and from stopping me from telling my story. Not one paper will touch the story and the reason why I was arrested... I was LULs one and only Project Inspector and yet I was barred from BTP premises as a Security threat and my movements were monitored for over 10 years by Met Police (Data subject access done) Mayoral question 501/2008 is about me yet the truth has been hidden - but I will still NOT shut up!!

Underground Inspector said...

As a whistleblower to Andrew Liar Gilligan (o do sue me for defamation Andrew) about Metronet I can confirm first hand he is a lying low down dog who ruins the lives of those that stupidly give him information.
My reward for telling Gilligan about Metronet (this was not even the story why I contacted him about in the first instance) was a false arrest for alleged threats to kill Boris Johnson starting a riot and FTAC claimed I was not Gilligans source and that I had Ideas of Grandeur my barrister proved all charges were nonsesnse and made up and I was released.
The papers will not touch the story as its not 'newsworthy'apprently.
More like they do not want the story I went to Gilligan with in the first instance revealed.
I was a LUL Project Inspector barred from BTP premises - the Tories at City Hall leaked the story through Mayoral Question 501/2008 whilst Ken Livinstone was Mayor but shut the story dead after Boris Johnson was elected.
The case was heard at Royal Courts of Justice against BTP and they have since tried to deny it happened... Shame for them I have all the paperwork 😉