So Farewell Then Paul Staines

Of all those asymmetric worlds out there, none compares with that inhabited by the perpetually thirsty Paul Staines and his rabble at the Guido Fawkes blog. The Great Guido has claimed in the past that he doesn’t resort to such things as legal threats, but here on Zelo Street we know that this is total crap (see HERE). Then comes Staines’ claim that suing him is a nightmare.

The Great Guido as thirsty as ever

Why so? Well, his defence is that the Fawkes blog is hosted somewhere offshore of the UK, that it’s registered likewise, and that he lives in Ireland. But the inevitable question then enters: as the blog’s contents are directed almost exclusively at a UK audience, and the Fawkes “newsroom”, such as it be, is believed to be in London, why shouldn’t he be sued here?

At which point Dale Vince, founder of Ecotricity, enters the scene. What he said in a radio interview on the subject of Gaza, Israel and Hamas has been repeated, and indeed creatively reinterpreted, by a number of media outlets, not least the Daily Mail. Vince, one of those people with the means to go to law, has already secured an apology and damages from the Mail.

Now he has the Fawkes massive, as well as former London Mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey, and Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice (he’s not very nice) in his sights. And his action against The Great Guido has proceeded to a meanings hearing, which happened earlier this week. Staines claims he decided to stand and fight, as if he had any choice in the matter.

Given that even the Mail, not usually given to being an easy pushover in legal matters, has decided to settle and say sorry, one has to ask if Staines’ decision to resist such a way out is wise. Nonetheless, he’s launched a fundraiser, claiming “We’re going to make a stand and defend free speech and the reporting of the actual words he said”. FREEZE PEACH!

No-one, of course, is trying to restrict Staines’ freedom of speech. But that freedom can have consequences, and those have, on this occasion, led to where he is now. So far, so predictable, but now into the mix has come the announcement - via Press Gazette, and not thus far reported on the Fawkes blog - that Staines is stepping down from his position as Fawkes editor.

Ross Kempsell, sorry, "Lord" Ross Kempsell

Here’s what PG has to say: “Guido Fawkes owner Paul Staines is stepping down as editor this week after 20 years leading the political blog. Staines is passing the reins over to Lord Ross Kempsell, Guido contributing editor and former chief reporter. Kempsell has been appointed to the role of publisher”. Note Staines is described as Fawkes “owner”, which will not change.

There was more. “Staines will become founding editor, no longer involved in the day-to-day running of the site. The news was announced ahead of Guido’s 20th anniversary dinner being held this week”. Another reminder that the Fawkes blog, far from being outside the media establishment, is very much a part of it. And what of Kempsell, sorry “Lord” Kempsell?

Anyone unsure of just what a nasty piece of work “Lord” Ross Kempsell, ennobled via the recommendation of disgraced former alleged Prime Minister Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, really is, may usefully be referred to this blog’s analysis of his modus operandi from October 2017. When it comes to unpleasantness, Kempsell’s past form is nothing to sniff at.

But his praise for Staines is risible. “Paul’s decades of hard work has built an extraordinary media brand with unparalleled influence inside Westminster and beyond. Paul did nothing less than single-handedly revolutionise political reporting in Britain. Loved by its readers and feared by its competitors, Guido is constantly growing in reach and impact”. Hard work? Paul Staines?

Staines wouldn’t recognise hard work if it jumped up in front of him and kicked him in the undercarriage. Feared? That’s a straight-A Fuck Right Off. And “revolutionise political reporting”? Would that be the lying, the calculated smearing, the constant favouring of increasingly far right views to the exclusion of all else? So all will change, but nothing will change.

Except that Dale Vince might just clean Staines out. If he weren’t so eco minded, Vince might find himself renamed Cillit Bang.

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