Don’t Menshn Corbyn Assault Smear

New Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has now, despite his dislike of cars, begun to use a car and driver provided by the Government Car Service. This has prevented his being ambushed by Sky News (“first for breaking wind”) while walking to or from the bus stop, but has not stopped the inevitable media scrum outside his house. So it was inevitable that there would be some pushing and shoving to get comments and photos.

(c) Doc Hackenbush 2014

This culminated in a BBC cameraman and his camera ending up on the ground yesterday morning as Corbyn got into the car. The driver - apparently a Government Car Service employee - is alleged to have been involved. That was enough for (thankfully) former Tory MP Louise Mensch to declare that, despite her being thousands of miles away, she knew all about what happened and that it was all Jezza’s fault.

“Sounds like Corbyn and his driver should be down the nick for assault and we will soon see what the bbc is made of … Oisin Tymin [sic] gets different treatment from the bbc than lowly cameraman because Clarkson a Tory, Corbyn labour” she thundered. Yes, she started off prejudiced and wrong, and yes, it gets worse.

“Allegedly driver threatens cameraman in front of #Corbyn. Assaults him smashes his camera. Witnesses say Corbyn told to get out car. Refused”. The camera was not smashed. Have another go. “If that is true #Corbyn telling alleged assaulter of cameraman to drive on - despite witness protests- is disgusting”. It isn’t true. But hey ho.

“If that was Cameron telling alleged assaulter to drive on despite witness protests you'd be up in arms”. If it was Cameron, nobody would have even got close to him. “Witnesses told #Corbyn to get out of the car after his driver allegedly assaulted cameraman. He refused”. Nobody told Corbyn to do anything, although one person suggested it.

“On tape #Corbyn recounts his dismissal of cameraman who was injured asking him not to drive off, said own fault”. As far as is known, the cameraman concerned didn’t ask Corbyn to do anything. So telling “Apart from the heinous act of driving off when victim asked not to, contempt for working victim is total” is more unfounded drivel.

And then came the pièce de résistance - a good old fashioned conspiracy theory: “that doesn't exclude him from being a Corbyn aide. Why was driver outside car allegedly attacking a cameraman? Can some journalists please ask the basic question: why a neutral driver would be outside the car ‘warning’ and ‘attacking’ a cameraman?” Yes, if all else fails, claim it was a Labour conspiracy after all.

With that, Ms Mensch wibbled off to tell anyone who was listening that she knew everything about something else. But she will no doubt be back to this incident, obsessively demanding that the world listen to her, despite the sad fact that it will have moved on by then. And remember, folks, they allowed her to become an MP.