As Zelo Street told yesterday, our free and fearless press knew the identity of the “mystery blonde” currently enjoying the attentions of London’s formerly very occasional Mayor Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson. They knew he was old enough to be her father. They knew several months ago. They knew this affair was interfering with his duties as Foreign Secretary. And they cynically held back the story to protect their fellow journalist.
It is not even in the realms of possibility that the media establishment did not know that Bozza was seeing former Tory spinner Carrie Symonds. The Murdoch Sun cannot have missed the story: Ms Symonds was the long-term partner of the odious flannelled fool Master Harry Cole, the paper’s alleged “Westminster Correspondent”.
Cole has undeservedly become part of the lobby: hence the lobby knew. That means not just the press, but every broadcaster who has a lobby representative. Yet there is already a move to skate over Bozza’s extra-curricular activities: it’s his private life, it’s a terrible tragedy for the family, but we should move on. This is complete bullshit.
Carrie Symonds
Bozza was in charge of the FO for most of the time he was seeing Ms Symonds. What if he had, instead, been distracted by Olga Legova from Samara? Or did everyone forget about John Profumo? Carrie Symonds was, until very recently, a senior Tory Party spinner. What about the possibility of her giving Bozza the inside track on his opponents, and indeed on Theresa May herself? The potential for corruption is obvious.
Happy couple no more? Oh dear, how sad, never mind
Then we come to the obvious comparator: what if it had been a senior Labour, Lib Dem, SNP or indeed MP of any other party? Indeed, what if it had been a Tory who was not a journalist, not one of the press’ own, or not of any use to them (pace John Whittingdale)? Would they all have kept schtum for more than half of this year? We know the answer to that one: no they bloody well wouldn’t. It would have been out there months ago.
But, you may say, it’s the press that put it out there now, so they can’t be protecting Bozza, can they? Oh yes they can. The only reason, as I pointed out last week, to put this news out there now is as damage limitation in advance of Bozza challenging Ms May for the Tory leadership. 10 Downing Street knew about the relationship, and indeed had all the dirt on The Goat Who Would Be King. So it’s just a case of getting in first.
February. The press knew in February
Having a Foreign Secretary whose behaviour makes David Lloyd George look like a rank amateur - to the extent of being a potential security risk whose mind, as it were, is elsewhere when it should be on his work - is not merely newsworthy, it is scandalous. But our free and fearless press - as well as representatives of every broadcaster - knew all about it and said nothing. That tells you all you need to know about them.
Once again, the conclusion is that our media establishment is broken. We only get from them what they agree to let us know. And that’s not good enough.
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7 comments:
Surely the question should be Tim, that if the media knew about the affair for so long but kept quiet to protect Johnson so he could challenge the Maybot, then why have they announced it now?
Is Johnson no longer of any use to them, and in that case who is going to take his place?
Surely not Gove who nearly always comes at the bottom of any pole for the next Tory leader?
Or is this just damage limitation to get it out of the way before Johnson makes a move on the top spot?
"They knew he was old enough to be her father". And knowing his predilection for spreading his seed about, I hope he checked that she wasn't. They are both fairhaired.
Where was Laura Kussenberg or Nick Robinson those fearless BBC journalists fighting for impartiality and the truth?
Errr they kept quiet, why and who ordered them?
Why did Theresa May not act? What if Bozza was Bonking a Russian female agent? Could Symonds be passing on state secrets to someone else?
Have the Establishment not learnt anything about the Profumo case ?
Seems they couldn't care less, too busy squabbling amongst themselves over which Brexit catastrophe they fancy.
Does it matter. Attack the messenger all you like but it doesn't alter the fact he is right about Brexit.
Jonathan at 14:38.
Put yourself in the Kremlin's place. You'd take one look at the state of the UK, laugh, and say, "Fuck this. Why spend espionage dosh on a broken, failing ruritanian country with delusions of grandeur?"
Then you'd laugh yourself to sleep.
I've noticed that much of the media has been framing this in terms of "Boris Johnson is getting divorced" rather than "Boris Johnson is being divorced for adultery"
What? that it was always going to be a shit show?
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