Panorama - Fawkes Teaboy Keeps On Lying

After their crude and dishonest hatchet job on this week’s BBC Panorama edition, which highlighted problems with resourcing the NHS response to the Coronavirus pandemic, the perpetually thirsty Paul Staines and his rabble at the Guido Fawkes blog might have been expected to stop and think, after they were caught lying yet again.

What time is it, Eccles?

But that thought would have been misplaced, as replacement teaboy Tom Harwood decided to emulate his predecessor Alex “Billy Liar” Wickham and lie a little more, especially after the BBC Media Centre issued a statement in response to criticism of the programme, which effectively demonstrated that the Fawkes hit job was a sham.

The Beeb has asserted “The sources for the new revelations were not the doctors who appeared in the programme”. So their political affiliation was irrelevant to those revelations. Moreover, “Some of those interviewed are members of a political party and some are not. We believe that if the doctors featured in Panorama feel their lives are at risk due to lack of proper PPE it is valid, and indeed in the public interest, for them to reflect on that experience, regardless of the political views they may or may not hold”.

Also, “with the exception of a nurse who we identified as a union representative, none of the interviewees were sourced through trade unions”. So along has come Teaboy Tom to tell “this bizarre statement that skirts around key points is released. It also confirms, and tries to excuse the fact that *every single doctor they interviewed was a labour activist*”.

It does not. What part of “Some of those interviewed are members of a political party and some are not” does Harwood not understand? Worse, membership does not equal activism. Harwood has no evidence to back up the “activist” claim. So he just lies.

Have another go. “The BBC also confirms that a nurse they interviewed for the programme was sourced through trade unions”. So what? Seriously, so what? Trades Unions are concerned for the safety of their members. The programme was investigating, er, the safety of those same people. Or does Harwood not care about such niceties?

On he drones. “They are still not commenting specifically on the *communist* trade union organiser who is claiming to have helped producers recruit participants”. Who does Harwood think he is, a real journalist? If he does, why not try doing some actual journalism, rather than expecting the BBC to spoon-feed him so he can kick them?

The revelations in the programme - “That the billion plus items of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that the government has supplied included cleaning products and individually counted gloves”, “That gowns, visors, swabs and body bags were not included in the pandemic stockpile”, “although 33 million FFP3 respirator masks were specified in the stockpile procurement list, only 12 million have been distributed”, and “steps to remove Covid-19 from the High Consequence Infectious Diseases (HCID) list were taken by the DHSC on 13 March” all stand. Harwood has failed to address any of them.

That’s because he’s trying to deflect from Government failings - by lying for his supper.

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