Karen Danczuk’s Guardian Fantasy

For reasons that do not seem immediately obvious, the Guardian has today given a non-trivial amount of space to what at first glance looks like an interview by staffer Zoe Williams, but turns out to be yet another slice of shameless self-promotion by Karen Danczuk, second wife of Rochdale’s nominally Labour MP. The only saving grace is that the paper doesn’t pay for interviews. That must have hurt with Kazza.

Karen Danczuk - modest as ever

“It is a blustery Tuesday morning in the Rochdale home of Karen Danczuk, a former councillor for Kingsway” tells Ms Williams, not it seems enquiring how the mortgage is being paid and who stumps up the bills for that thwacking great motor on the drive while Kazza is doing nothing that even vaguely resembles gainful employment. Nor does she dwell on the “former councillor” - she was allegedly pressured to stand down.

But she does say of Kazza that “Her loyalty to Simon is binary and unshakable”. That might give a clue as to where the money comes from. Then Ms Williams allows her subject to say of the MP that he is “a very vulnerable person whose main flaw is to trust too much”. Those on the receiving end of the litany of dirty tricks - one of which is now the subject of litigation - might find that analysis, well, interesting.

Instead, readers are told “There is no need for Karen Danczuk to stand by Simon”. See above. Doubt is cast on Camilla Long’s Sunday Times article, although this is understood to have got its author shortlisted for an award. And the biscuit is well and truly taken by the claim “Though Simon and [first wife] Sonia weren’t divorced until 2010, Karen says they had separated by the time she and Simon met”.

They were still living in the same house, and had not yet separated, when Sonia discovered that Kazza was pregnant. Ms Williams also allows her to get away with “Karen Danczuk wouldn’t want to be an MP. ‘They’re too – what’s the word? – chained.’ She wants to be a lawyer”. Yeah, right. That’s not what she said last November.

Then, Kazza was telling the world “Looking forward to launching my own Personal Training Company in the New Year. You've seen my journey, I now want to teach you!” It hasn’t happened. Only a week and a half ago, she was featured in the Sun: “She now wants to write books, is applying for PR jobs, and starts a radio-presenting gig soon”. No book deal yet, no PR job and we’re still waiting for the radio presenting gig.

And all of that is before considering that volte-face over what happened at Alicante airport, which led to the bad blood caused by the Rochdale Seven affair - heck, even the Mail On Sunday got that one. There is the collapse of the Deli business and the landlord having to go to court for unpaid rent. There is the IPSA investigation into all the overtime she was paid when working for her second husband, resulting in him having to give her a final warning. Yet none of it finds its way into Ms Williams’ article.

Interview features cannot be fact checks; that much is understood. But this blanket covering of soft soap really will not do. Ultimately, it will damage Zoe Williams and the Guardian far more than it will Karen Danczuk. And that is not a good place to be.