Toby Young’s Paedophile Smokescreen

Although the obsession of the legendarily foul mouthed Paul Dacre and his obedient attack doggies has dimmed for the moment, taking the campaign to damage Harriet Harman off the Daily Mail’s front page for a couple of days, those on the right are taking the opportunity to frame the story for their own political gain. This is especially true of those totally lacking in principle.

(c) Doc Hackenbush 2014

That leads us to one uniquely shameless and unprincipled individual, the loathsome Toby Young: for him, nothing is off limits when there is a rotten lefty to kick. So, with a nod to his editor at the bear pit that is Telegraph blogs – that would be Damian Thompson, clueless pundit of no fixed hair appointment – Tobes has made the linking of Ms Harman to a paedophile group his number one priority.

Thompson refers to Ms Harman as “Hattie”, showing the patronising schoolboy style that he would not dare use if ever she made the mistake of going anywhere near him. Then he asserts she “defended paedophilia”, supported by no evidence at all. His post is couched in that “look-dear-don’t-shit-us-around-we-know-you-done-it-and-you-should-be-ashamed-so-fess-up-like-a-good-little-girl” style.

This tees things up nicely for Tobes, who looks around for copy that agrees with his point of view: “This piece in the [Mirror] is spot on”. It’s an opinion item, Tobes. Try again? “New evidence in the Telegraph casts doubt”. Very good, I showed yesterday why that was a heap of crap. “If Mail found links between senior Tory and PIE that would be on [the] front page”. He just doesn’t get it, does he?

“Just watched Harriet Harman’s interview ... why won’t she admit NCCL’s  link with the PIE was a mistake ... as is [Ed Miliband’s] decision to treat revelations as a Daily  Mail smear. Political folly on a grand scale”. NCCL did not “link” with PIE. It was the other way round. And, like the Mail’s attack of his late father, smear is exactly what it is. Miliband is spot on, which is why he’s a party leader, and Tobes, er, isn’t.

“Harriet Harman’s aid [sic] has said she ‘regrets PIE’s involvement with NCCL before she joined’. Actually it was before *and* during”. They affiliated twice, did they? And what was the mechanism for NCCL to kick them out? Well, come on Tobes, since you know everything about the business, you must have the quick and easy answers? As well as being able to spell “aide” properly, Mr School Governor.

Go on, one last heave: “The attempt by Harman and others to spin this as a Daily Mail ‘smear’ is ludicrous. Private Eye has been pursuing this story for decades”. And, as Jon Stewart might have said, two things here. One, the Eye and the Mail frame the business rather differently. And two, that does not alter the fact that Dacre has ordered this attack in order to do some damage.

Toby Young knows this. But he joins in the kicking anyway. No change there, then.