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Saturday 30 March 2019

Vote Leave Admits Crime - Hello BBC

Journalist and filmmaker Edward Lawrence was happy to report last night that the documentary he had been working on recently was a wrap. “It's 12.30am on the 30th March, an hour and a half after we're supposed to have left the EU … IT’S A WRAP!!! Thanks @bbclaurak for the past 9 months. The Brexit Storm airs Monday 9pm on BBC Two. #brexit”. A smiling Laura Kuenssberg was at front of shot.
The BBC’s political editor may not be smiling so much at other Brexit-related news this morning, though, as Jim Pickard of the FT told yesterday: “Vote Leave has dropped its appeal against the Electoral Commission, the elections watchdog has announced”. Steve Peers observed “It's now definitive that Vote Leave broke election spending law. They dropped the case on Friday afternoon in the hope that no one would notice”.
So what was the big deal? The EC put it directly. “Vote Leave has today withdrawn its appeal and related proceedings against the Electoral Commission’s finding of multiple offences under electoral law, committed during the 2016 EU referendum campaign … We have been advised that Vote Leave has paid its £61,000 fine”. That’s what.
And that’s why Ms Kuenssberg might best advised not to smile too much right now: she did, after all, effectively take dictation from Vote Leave’s Matthew Elliott when the lawbreaking was first revealed, the BBC report spinning Vote Leave’s behaviour as mere “rule-breaking”. Ms K even told “it is not thought that the new information was decisive in proving a breach of the law”. When there had been a breach of the law.
Moreover, Theresa May’s adviser Stephen Parkinson was intimately involved in the lawbreaking. VL’s political supporters were suspiciously adjacent to the wrongdoing, too - notably Michael “Oiky” Gove and London’s formerly very occasional Mayor Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson. And here was the BBC sweeping it under the carpet.
Unsurprisingly, Jo Maugham had one question after seeing VL drop its appeal. “Hey, @bbclaurak. As I recall, you offered the BBC up as @matthew_elliott's de facto press agency when he alleged this was all but mere allegation. Any chance of you covering it now he's in effect admitted Vote Leave cheated?” He was not alone.
The Observer’s Carole Cadwalladr reflected “The TIMING! On the day Britain was set to leave European Union, the official campaign finally admits it broke the law. Deliberately. Massively. And overseen by Theresa May’s closest advisor & one of her ministers”. And as to Bozza denying there was any cheating, she had one more question.
Johnson led this campaign. He oversaw a huge deliberate fraud. He’s never been asked questions about it. #VoteLeave did not win ‘fair & square’. Will you now retract this comment?” Well, will you, Bozza? Do you feel … lucky?

Worse for those out there on the right, VL dropping their appeal means flap-mouthed nonentity Darren Grimes is next in line for paying his particular version of Two Dollars. Never mind the documentaries, Ms Kuenssberg - let’s see some credible reporting.
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4 comments:

Mark said...

Filed a(nother) complaint about Laura K to the BBC this week over her refusal to acknowledge or lead with the inherent racism in the Chequers rebels decision to call themselves Grand Wizards. No that a complaint will do any good of course.

Anonymous said...

"Let's see some credible reporting."?

WHAT!?...From BBC "News and Politics"?...From Kuennsberg of all people?

Christ almighty, how many more examples are needed of the true righty political agenda of that mob of propaganda clerks?

Tim is to joke, yes?

Arnold said...

Not quite. From the Guardian.
"Vote Leave said it had dropped the appeal for financial reasons. “Sadly, we now find ourselves in a position that we do not have the financial resources to carry forward this appeal, even though we are confident that we would have prevailed on the facts in court"

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/mar/29/vote-leave-drops-appeal-against-fine-for-electoral-offences

Well they would, wouldn't they?

Unknown said...

You're bben a bit selective with your evidence there Tim. Here is an example of Laura K talking about breaking the law...


https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-44704561

Headline: "Vote Leave broke electoral law, Electoral Commission expected to say"

First line: "The official Brexit campaign is expected to be found guilty of four charges of breaking electoral law, the BBC has been told."

Date: 4th July 2018

Author: Laura Kuenssberg