Jan Leeming And The Daily Mail

In the right-leaning press’ assault on the hated BBC, there is no greater asset to the cause than an apparently disgruntled former BBC employee, prepared to tell everyone how the Corporation they knew is unrecognisable today, that they don’t make decent TV any more, and bemoaning the overload of political correctness. So when former newsreader Jan Leeming’s name appeared on a Daily Mail by-line, readers sat up and took notice.

The Mail didn't use this photo. Can't think why not

The article - headlined “Here is the news: I'm fed up paying for a 'woke' BBC that I barely recognise, writes former broadcaster JAN LEEMING” - was just what the Mail wanted; indeed, it seemed too good to be true. And as has been shown in less than 24 hours since first publication, it really was too good to be true. All those Mail boxes duly ticked.

“Why should I stump up, given the corporation's endless diet of repeats, soaps, cookery programmes and cheap-to-make, fly-on-the-wall ‘documentaries'? … there's the disastrous decision to dispense with the lyrics of Rule, Britannia! and Land Of Hope And Glory at the Last Night Of The Proms this year. Why is the BBC so in thrall to the woke minority while ignoring the wishes of so many of its loyal regulars like me? Have we suddenly become snowflakes?” Did she really say “woke” and “snowflake”? But there is more.

“Treating the population like children by sanitising everything, suppressing debate, and 'no-platforming' is extremely damaging … Meanwhile, the settings in which BBC TV presenters and their guests enjoy their exchanges are beginning to resemble the flight deck of the Starship Enterprise. Is the news any better delivered from a hugely expensive set?” By this morning, however, some were asking the all too obvious question.

Did she really say that? One Tweeter put the question directly: “As the definition of ‘woke’ is ‘to be alert to societal injustices - racism in particular,’ are we to assume that you support societal injustices - racism in particular?”. And then we got the answer.

“ABSOLUTELY NOT. The article bears hardly any relationship to what I wrote. I had hoped to correct the erroneous article of last week in which the #DailyMail cobbled together and based on a Tweet I wrote. Tweets of others were attributed to me. I should have known better”. Another potential recruit for Hacked Off, methinks. And there was more.

“#DailyMail printed erroneous article about me - attributing to me Tweets Made by others. Asked 3 times for interview which I refused.Talking to journalists is a #minefield. Asked to write article - should have known better. Today’s bears little resemblance to my original”. So the Mail badgered her for an article. And probably had one they’d prepared earlier.

Her conclusion was all too familiar to those of us who study the machinations of the press: “Closing Twitter for today. Been accused of racism and the intelligence of Knitting among others. Just wish I’d not tried to put my point of view in response to the article written last week. You never win with the press. Might post the article on my website as written by me”. Hopefully she will do just that. Because IPSO won’t lift a finger.

The Mail and reality never do see eye to eye, do they? I’ll just leave that one there.

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