ISIS Killing – Where Was The Mail?

Sometimes, not all the papers go with the same front page headline, and one of those times was today. Seeing the papers lined up in their racks – yes, some of us actually buy the things occasionally – it was clear that most of the pack had managed to cover the murder of Alan Henning. Heck, even the Express had got the story, so if they could, anyone could.

What's f***ing wrong with telling readers to vote Tory, c***?!? Er, with the greatest of respect, Mr Jay

Not the Daily Mail. At 0830 hours in Crewe, the Mail stood out like the proverbial sore thumb. Not a sign of the ISIS, or whatever they’re called this week, killing. Instead, readers were treated to the bizarre claim “Cameron vows to personally lead probe into how Latvian killer ever got into Britain ... PM’s Pledge On Alice Murder”. Yes, Young Dave is now a top cop as well as being PM!

Except that Cameron didn’t vow to personally lead the probe, as a look at the supporting story reveals: “David Cameron has pledged to personally examine how the prime suspect for Alice Gross's murder got into Britain ... the Prime Minister promised to learn lessons from the case and consider whether better ways of sharing information on criminals between European countries could have helped”.

So what did he actually say? “It's a horrific case. Anyone with a daughter will have felt just absolutely sickened by what has happened and what that poor family has had to go through. I'll look at all the circumstances of the case, what lessons there are to learn, whether that's about sharing information or whether it's about the importance of keeping our country safe”.

And then the real law enforcement people will get on and deal with the case. However, and here we encounter a significantly sized however, this doesn’t explain why the Mail kept this story on the front page, even as almost all the rest of the Fourth Estate switched theirs to the news on Alan Henning. A look at other Mail splashes from the past few days may explain this.

Last Saturday, while most other titles went with the UK joining air strikes against ISIS, the Mail served up Tory Party propaganda, proclaiming “20% Off Your First Home”. In the meantime, we’ve seen the desperately hyperbolic “At Last, A Real Tory Premier”, and yesterday’s “End Of Human Rights Farce”, which apparently completed “a triumphant week for British values”.

The legendarily foul mouthed Paul Dacre has decreed that bolstering the Tories is more important than the sad news coming out of Syria overnight. This shows the depth of his antipathy to the Labour Party, and belief that his intervention can move voters to switch. The opinion polls suggest that all those Daily Mail readers are not quite as biddable as he might think.

Paul Dacre will not go gentle into that good night. There is rage in him yet.