The inmates of the Baby Shard Bunker still believe that they have their finger on the public pulse, that whatever they serve up in the pages of the Super Soaraway Currant Bun will keep the masses coming back for more. Sadly, with the Sun’s circulation having now dipped below 1.4 million (4 million in 1992, remember) this is clearly not the case. And the latest leftie-bashing “exclusive” has only served to show why.
“COCKTAIL PARTY Labour’s Diane Abbott breaks the law by swigging can of mojito on the train home” screamed the headline, followed up with “A retired police officer has called for Ms Abbott to 'face action' after she was caught illegally drinking alcohol on a London Overground service”. This was no ordinary can of mojito. It was an M&S mojito.
Tony Gallagher - another out-of-touch editor
But do go on. “SHADOW Home Secretary Diane Abbott was slammed for illegally downing an alcoholic cocktail on a train … Drinking alcohol is against the law on all Tubes, buses and trains run by Transport for London”. Then come the lies. “The outspoken Labour MP stunned fellow passengers by swigging a £2 can of Marks and Spencer mojito on an Overground service”. The bloke in the next seat is clearly not stunned.
And it gets worse. “Ms Abbott - who has campaigned to end the sale of cheap alcohol”. It’s from M&S, Sun people. M&S is not “cheap alcohol”. Have another go. “A passenger said: ‘She kept her head down and was staring at her phone but kept slurping from the can. It was 1pm, so a bit early to be drinking - especially in public.’” Bullshit. The Sun has not spoken to any passengers - well, apart from the one who took the photo.
Moreover, getting righteous about having a scoop in the afternoon, coming from people who regularly, er, have a scoop in the afternoon is just more hypocrisy. Still, they did have someone from the London Assembly to comment. “Susan Hall, who sits on the London Assembly’s Police and Crime Committee, said: ‘As someone who aspires to be Home Secretary, Diane Abbott should know better’”. Susan Hall, you say? Ri-i-i-ight.
Susan Hall, or @councillorsuzie, is a Tory, so Mandy Rice Davies applies. Also, her Twitter feed is one long succession of snipes and moans at Sadiq Khan. So what she has told the Sun is entirely predictable. In any case, the court of public opinion has already passed judgment, and that feedback shows how out of touch the Murdoch goons are.
“Good on her, I'd need a bloody mojito if I was stalked by Sun journalists 24/7 … If there's a story here it should be ‘Desperate hack stalks MP for clickbait’ … whoever wrote this, you went to Uni and this is what you ended up writing about. Be proud because your parents aren’t … You people are the very lowest form of life and you should delete your account/newspaper”. And what of other media folks’ reactions?
The excellent Sun Apology has collected some of these, including Shahmir Sanni (“Don’t apologise. This is fucking epic”), James Ball (“I only hope it was a good mojito”), Lisa Moorish (“LEGEND”), and Dan Hodges (“Was it a decent mojito? Not many people know how to make them properly these days”). Yes, even Labour-hating Dan Hodges took the whole episode with a vey large pinch of salt. That would be game over.
The Sun tries once again to be relevant. And once again it fails. No change there, then.
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11 comments:
Dress it up as much as you like but the shadow Home Secretary was drinking alcohol on an Overground train, which is illegal. The train also has notices in it to tell you it is illegal.
"DRINKING on trains is not illegal in most parts of the UK and some services sell alcohol on board. However, Transport for London has policies — backed by by-laws — that ban passengers in the capital from drinking or opening alcohol containers on trains, trams and buses."
Tweet from @0Calamity ( a barrister) to Tory @Councillorsuzie who was apparently the snitch:
"Illegal" is stretching it somewhat. She was in breach of By-law No. 4(3), the penalty for which is being told to leave the train. (Unless a conductor saw her and told her it was OK to continue.) How spiteful, reporting Britain's most abused black woman MP to the Sun.
Sorry Tim, you've called this one wrong.
A,Kelly is concerned. Austerity is literally killing 1000s and endless citizens are sleeping in the streets while over 4 million kids live in poverty but woman drinks a can of booze on the train. Give me a break. What has Britain come to with this puerile claptrap?
Byelaws. Failure to comply with byelaws is a criminal offence. In many cases any person breaking a byelaw is liable to a fine of an amount not exceeding: level 3 on the standard scale; or such lower amount as is specified in the byelaws for each offence. The council’s byelaws can be found in the document list below.
I suggest your barrister needs to do some revision.
I know of a revenue inspection who was fined and given a police record for telling a passenger to "Fuck off", she broke a bye law you see.
P.S. Anonymous. I have just realised that the person purporting to being a barrister on Twitter who you quote does not actually give their name or any other credentials, yet you blindly believe what they say?
Do you answer scam emails as well.?
A Kelly - And nobody gives a fuck.
Has saddo A Kelly been at the Mojitos? And will A Kelly be ranting about how lawful or otherwise it is to take a photo on a TfL overground train and send it to the Sun for publication? That's not 'own personal use'.
"Permits and costs
If you want to film or take photographs on the TfL network, you must ask permission ahead of time from the TfL Film Office.
All permit requests must be made in writing, using our downloadable application form."
"Private photographers
We get many requests from tourists, train enthusiasts, budding photographers and customers 'passing through' a station who may want to take photographs for their own personal use. We agree that this is acceptable, at the station's discretion, as long as additional camera equipment (including flash and tripods) is not used.
However, images clearly promoting the London Underground brand/logos must not be published or broadcast without our permission ahead of time. Also, people filming or taking photographs for their own purposes on TfL's network are responsible for ensuring they comply with the requirements of privacy and data protection legislation."
https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/filming-and-photography/filming-and-photography-on-tfl
Who took the photo? Did they get paid for it?
And yes @0Calamity is a barrister. You'd do well to follow her.
I'm not a barrister, but I am a train guard and let me tell you A. Kelly that everyone else here is right; the most that we can actually do is ask the person to desist from drinking. If they refuse to do so, we then ask them to leave the train. If they refuse to do that, we call British transport police and that's possibly were a fine comes in for civil disobedience, NOT from simply drinking on the train. In most cases, train guards turn a blind eye because unless they're swigging from a multipack there's simply no harm. Other rail services up and down the country allow for alcohol on trains, some even sell it. It's a stupid ruling with TFL, and that's why most of us choose to overlook it. What I wouldn't overlook personally is someone snapping a photo of a stranger on my train, certainly not a woman. That is illegal.
By-law not bye law. If you want to sound like the font of all knowledge in this instance, it might be best if you checked your spelling...as well as the actual law and regulations
Dear train guard, I don't know what company you work for but it's not TFL as guards left the London train system years ago. Therefore you cannot comment on what happens when someone on TFL trains is caught drinking. And they are not caught by you. It isn't illegal to take someone's photograph on a train either, unless they object and you persist. What they may do with the photo afterwards may breach TFL copyright law (A civil tort not a criminal one).
People saying they are train guards on TFL, whackos blindly believed they are barristers, how sweet.
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