Guido Fawked - IPSO Not Involved

The claims made by the perpetually thirsty Paul Staines and his rabble at the Guido Fawkes blog about author and journalist - that’s real journalist, Fawkes folks, not the pretend kind like your not so good selves - Peter Jukes were shown yesterday by Zelo Street to be totally untrue. One might think that, after that, things could not get any worse for The Great Guido. But that thought would have been misplaced.

Fart in lift Inquiry puts the wind up itself

The claims, in a post authored by the Fawkes folks’ newly anointed teaboy Alex “Billy Liar” Wickham, of “IPSO: Peter Jukes Claims breached accuracy rules”, and “Press regulator IPSO has slammed claims made by Peter Jukes” were in stark contrast to the reality: “the adjudication does not make a specific finding that Peter Jukes breached Clause 1 of the Code; the decision relates to the editorial processes at Press Gazette”.

Wickham once again having his pants on fire was bad enough, but it now seems that he has been yet more dishonest, this time over his involvement with the so-called Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). From the outset, he had suggested that a dialog was going on involving that body, and himself. This suggestion was first floated following the Brooks Newmark sting.

He proudly boasted “Today shows it was never a fishing expedition. Won’t hold breath for [Jane Martinson] mea culpa. Maybe I should take [Media Guardian] to IPSO” (Wickham appears unaware that the Guardian does not subscribe to IPSO). A week later came another suggestion of dialog, as he announced “Pleased IPSO complaint over Sunday Mirror Brooks Newmark story has been dropped”.

This pretence was carried on into the attack on Jukes: after Peter had been in Twitter contact with the Fawkes rabble, Wickham snapped “are you being serious? We said your claims, reported by [Press Gazette], breached rules. Which is what IPSO found”. And, as Jon Stewart might have said, two things here. One, as we know, there was no specific finding against Jukes. And two, Wickham isn’t as familiar with IPSO as he made out.

We know this because, in reply to former Daily Star showbiz reporter Nigel Pauley, “Billy Liar” ‘fessed up, telling “I have never communicated nor had any dealings with IPSO in any form”. So not only did the Fawkes blog peddle a total crock of crap, they got it second hand. Yes, this allegedly trustworthy (no, don’t laugh) freelance “journalist” was fed the Jukes story and didn’t even bother to check it before publishing.

And, if Wickham did not get the story from IPSO, who supplied it? It didn’t come from Jukes, and that leaves only one possible source: former Mail On Sunday investigations editor Dennis Rice. So the Fawkes rabble’s teaboy has, by his own admission, underscored the connection I broached the other day. Rice, who also once worked for the now-defunct Screws, is working with the Fawkes folks.

We get to the fact of the matter eventually, despite the flannel. Another fine mess.