Mail Hypocrisy Latest

[Update at end of post]

As the weather improves and the public mood lightens ahead of the opening ceremony for the London Olympic Games, the Daily Mail has clearly judged that it is time for its own fun and games, and if there were to be a freestyle hypocrisy event, the paper and its array of dubiously talented hacks would walk it. One look at a selection from today’s offerings tells you all you need to know.

What if my f***ing boss is a non-dom, c***?!?

Stepping up for the bronze is the ageing yet familiar figure of Peter McKay, aka Peter McLie, the World’s Worst Columnist, who is wibbling on about Young Dave’s popularity being in decline. That would be in stark contrast to McHackey’s own marketability, which is sadly restricted to the Daily Mail, as nobody else who scrabbles around the dunghill that is Grubstreet will pay his bar bills.

Also gunning for the Coalition, and full value for her silver, is the ranting and only occasionally tolerant figure of Melanie “not just Barking but halfway to Upminster” Phillips, who rails today against not just youth, but callow youth. The problem with the present Government, for Mad Mel, is that they are just too young, a sign of our obsession with youth above experience.

But what gives Mel’s latest rantfest the air of the draughty glasshouse is when she castigates those at the top of Government for never having had to hold down a proper job, with working for any Government body or anything in PR being discounted. But all that Mel has ever done is no different to Cameron’s years as a PR person – she’s a career hack, and don’t we all know it.

And so to the top of the podium: the gold goes – fittingly – to the legendarily foul mouthed Paul Dacre himself. The Vagina Monologue, the sentiment behind Daily Mail Comment even if he has ordered one of his gofers to write it for him, has turned his attention to tax avoidance, which in Dacreland is being done mainly by the detested BBC. The misinformation is cranked up to the max in today’s rant.

In Dacre’s sights are all those at the Corporation who work through limited companies, who are alleged to be able to pay Corporation Tax instead of Income Tax. Bullshit. The only significant saving – and that depends on not being “caught” by IR35 – is National Insurance payments. You draw the money out of the company, it’s income, you end up paying more or less the same tax overall.

Dacre would be better employed going after the ones who are not domiciled in the UK for tax purposes, but here a certain sensitivity enters: the Daily Mail is effectively owned by Jonathan Harmsworth, the fourth Viscount Rothermere, who is, er, not domiciled in the UK for tax purposes. So the Vagina Monologue kicks the BBC instead of his more deserving boss.

Thus the winning podium of stinking hypocrisy. No change there, then.

[UPDATE 26 July 1140 hours: to only a little surprise, the lead item in Private Eye's Street Of Shame section in the latest issue (Number 1319) is on the same subject as the last part of this post, namely the Daily Mail's attack on the BBC for supposed tax avoidance.

I'm sure this is premeditated and nothing to do with anyone from Master Strobes' highly esteemed organ looking in on Zelo Street, so there won't be a free subscription in the post, then. Oh well]