Dan Wootton - All His Own Fault

The impression that the deeply unpleasant Dan Wootton sought to convey when he tackled the allegations against him the other evening on his Gammon Broadcasting™ News (“Bacon’s News Channel”) show was that he was the victim, that it was all about what others were doing to him. He was the innocent party in all this. And if you believe that, you’ll believe anything.

Desperate Dan was, as so often, talking well, but lying badly. The corner into which he is now boxed is entirely as a result of his own actions. It’s not someone else’s fault, but his own. We know this after Byline Times followed up their initial set of revelations (with a signpost to Part Three) and this week’s Popbitch email dropped. Two events stood out, on from each.

From the Byline Times article, we learn “Dan Wootton was the subject of at least six bullying claims from colleagues while working for The Sun - but was promoted by the newspaper as complainants were silenced with large pay-offs and non-disclosure agreements”. And we’re talking how much, exactly?

It’s a nice round number: “[News UK] did not deny that all six individuals received severance payments contingent on the signing of binding ‘restrictive covenant’ or ‘non-disclosure’ agreements. The cost of the legal proceedings and settlements is estimated to be more than £1 million”.

But then Wootton overreached himself. One source told Byline Times “As the boss, he had control over the company payment system. He would sabotage other journalists. He would go into the payment system and find out the names of contacts. He would then get in touch with them himself and make them deal with him directly. It was impossible to do your job. The most valuable thing a journalist has are their contacts”. Do go on.

“But he had a decisive falling-out with current editor Victoria Newton … In February 2020, on her first day in the role, Wootton left Newton furious by ‘demanding’ she promote him, prompting a ‘cute’ move by the new editor, who reached out to Wootton’s ‘best remaining royal contact’ and placed them on a special retainer ensuring that they dealt exclusively with her”. It was all Wootton’s own fault. Ms Newton had clearly done her homework.

And, as the Popbitch email has spelled out, Wootton’s departure from ITV also appears to be his own fault. “During the Phillip Schofield saga, Dan Wootton wrote in his regular Mail column that the reason he quit his job at ITV was because they tried to ban him from talking about Schofield and Meghan Markle on air … [He] told then where to stick their job, and left”

To no surprise at all, this assertion caused Desperate Dan to need the services of the nearest fire extinguisher to put out his blazing trousers. “The story that survives at ITV is that Dan was suspected of leaking stories that he’d gleaned from hanging around at ITV and feeding them back to his paymasters at the Sun - in breach of the terms of his employment”.

There was more. “To make sure it wasn’t coincidence, they pulled the old Wagatha Christie trick on him, deliberately floating some fake gossip his way to see if - by some miracle - it made its way into the paper. And it did. So they dropped him”. The Popbitch email makes another telling point.

“We hope he realises people aren’t just interested in this story because of the connection to GB News. They’re interested in it because of him … And it’s extremely well deserved”. Back at Byline Times, their article ends with the teaser “Coming Up … The Catfish Correspondent”. And I have to tell Desperate Dan that it will not be the final instalment.

How long will Dan Wootton go on before it sinks in that the game really is up? More to the point, at what point will management at GB News conclude that the reputational damage being done to their brand by Wootton’s continued presence means he is no longer worth the candle? When will they conclude they don’t need to stick a fork in him because they already know he’s done?

The time of Dan Wootton was for a time, but not for all time. Just rejoice at that news.

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