Toby Young Covid Cobblers CARPETED

There was a hint of menace, backed with cocksure arrogance, about the headline of the column in the increasingly desperate and downmarket Telegraph last July penned by the loathsome Toby Young. “When we have herd immunity Boris will face a reckoning on this pointless and damaging lockdown” it told. Ah, the old “herd immunity” ploy.

Behold the victim - of his own stupidity

Sad to say, the contents of Tobes’ column did not support the headline braggadocio, and so it came to pass that James Whitehead made a complaint to alleged press regulator IPSO on the grounds of Clause 1 (Accuracy). As is the usual Telegraph modus operandi, the first thought was outright denial: “The publication did not accept it has breached the Code. It emphasised that the article was clearly presented as an opinion piece on a topic of considerable scientific uncertainty”. Ah, the old “only an opinion piece” ploy.

But not even IPSO was prepared to wipe the Tel’s arse this time. “The publication had therefore failed to take care not to publish inaccurate and misleading information in breach of Clause 1(i) … The statement was significantly misleading … there was a breach of Clause 1(ii) … The newspaper failed to take care not to publish inaccurate or misleading information in breach of Clause 1(i) … there was a breach of Clause 1(ii) [again]”.

The complaint was therefore upheld, and once again the Tel’s obsession with arguing the toss and failing to own up when it had the opportunity to do so got it precisely nowhere. And so came the grovelling “correction”: "An article (11 July) about Covid 19 argued that people with cross-reactive T cells ' will have natural immunity' having 'already successfully fought off other coronaviruses '. This was incorrect as such people may still contract and transmit Covid”. It was, whisper it quietly, a pack of lies. And there was more.

“The article also wrongly proposed that 'London is probably approaching herd immunity' but cross-reactive T cells do not prevent infection spreading and therefore do not create herd immunity and there was no evidence to support such immunity was being established in London”. Tobes had pretended to know some science. But he didn’t.

So has The Great Man shown a hint of contrition over peddling misinformation to the masses? As if you need to ask. Tobes has, not for the first time, decided instead to play the victim. After Tory MP Neil O’Brien called him out, Tobes whined “A Conservative MP should not be urging media companies to suppress one side in that debate, particularly as the 2019 Conservative manifesto reaffirmed the party's commitment to free speech”.

He’s being silenced! Read all about it in the Spectator, Telegraph, at Lockdown Sceptics, in slots on several broadcasters, and in an exclusive podcast! And it got worse. “I installed an app last week that deletes all tweets more than a week old. This was in response to Twitter's increasing intolerance of people who challenge liberal orthodoxies, including Covid orthodoxy. I would advice other dissenters to do the same”.

He’s a dissident! The totalitarian dictatorship of Boris Nyet So Gudenov is coming to get him! But enough. Toby Young says he wants a debate. So here’s one just for him.

In the seven days to yesterday, 370,839 new Covid-19 cases, 7,507 deaths and 26,999 hospital admissions were reported. Put that in your next column, Tobes. If there is one.

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