And So This Is Christmas

The world is now a more dangerous, more unequal, more unjust, more authoritarian, and more uncaring place. Peace is in short supply, except in the fevered minds of more of those Here Today And Gone Tomorrow Politicians. And you can forget goodwill. Where it will end we know not. But end it will, with the grim certainty of night following day.

Christmas tree in Lisbon's Praça do Comércio

Centre stage is the most corrupt régime of any modern and allegedly democratic nation, that of Combover Crybaby Donald Trump. This only occasionally coherent, rambling, terminally vain, and obscenely unpleasant being is about to start a war with Venezuela. Over oil. It will not end well for the USA. Meanwhile, Trump is driving the economy off a cliff.

Those cheering him on are an increasingly compliant media, and the ranks of the obscenely overmonied, who care about themselves, and not about the 98% who are becoming poorer by the day. The political and media class in the UK also cares, mostly, about itself, and not about the 98%, but imagines itself to be in touch with those hard-working people it likes to talk about.

But it isn’t: our media elite likes not-even-one-dimensional politicians like Wes Streeting, somehow unaware that the voters dislike him intensely. The media class likes political operators like Morgan McSweeney, unable or unwilling to confront the reality of Labour’s poll numbers, and that half Labour’s membership has got fed up and left since Keir Starmer became leader.

Fewer members means fewer people to canvass, leaflet, persuade uncommitted voters, and get the vote out. There were hints of that problem in the 2024 election results. Voters know that they are being taken for mugs by New New Labour; many are backing Reform UK and its self-appointed Oberscheissenführer Nigel “Thirsty” Farage. But here a problem enters.

The UK had a congenital liar, racist bigot and con man as PM before, and look where supporting the disgraced Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson got us. Farage, like Johnson, and like almost all the others in the political and media class, does not give a flying foxtrot about the proles. Some in that media class also treat their audience like so many mugs.

Santa driving his tram. Ho ho ho

Who might exemplify this approach? Step forward Gammon Broadcasting News (“Bacon’s News Channel”) to freely pump misinformation, and, indeed, disinformation, to an audience that can no longer tell fact from fiction. GB News’ approach was deliciously busted recently when their “host” Carole Malone, another deeply unpleasant being, was caught defaming live on air.

Sadly for Ms Malone, she had defamed Doria Raglund, whose better-known daughter is the Duchess of Sussex. The “please don’t sue us, we didn’t mean it, honestly” on-air sort-of-apologies were a thing to behold. But a serious point had been made: this illustrated the contempt in which the media class holds ordinary people. A contempt which has been exposed elsewhere.

And that is in the reportage, and associated punditry, concerning the actions of the Israeli Government and its armed forces, mainly in Gaza, but also in the illegally occupied West Bank, Syria and Lebanon. This time, though, smearing those opposed to slaughtering tens of thousands of human beings as anti-Semites is not working. Because the public can see what’s going on.

This, in turn, brings us back to Starmer and the Labour Together cabal that put him in power. They treat the voters with contempt, and are clueless as to how they get those voters to return. Meanwhile, the Greens make steady progress under Zack Polanski, because he is listening to voters, and cares about them. So it is that we reach Christmas 2025.

With a media and political class, many of whom want to pursue policies that will make the 98% yet poorer. A Government like so many rabbits caught in the headlights. An electorate battered by harsh reality, and a tsunami of bad faith media actors. And little prospect of improvement any time soon.

Feliz Natal e Boas Festas, as they say here in Portugal. Eat, drink, be merry, and hope for an end to the period of elite stupidity. That is all.

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It Was The Sun Wot Done It

And so it came to pass that News Group Newspapers, the official title for the UK chapter of the Murdoch Mafiosi, arrived at the High Court for what was expected to be an eight-week trial over allegations of unlawful behaviour brought by Prince Harry and former Labour deputy leader Tom Watson. And very soon after, NGN caved in and waved the white flag.

Rather than see the likes of the twinkle-toed yet domestically combative Rebekah Brooks, still NGN’s CEO, cross-examined over what the Murdoch press did to get their stories, and answer all those inconvenient questions about mass email deletion and other less than totally ethical practices, they admitted, for the first time, that the Sun was involved in breaking the law.

Yes, after shelling out more than a billion notes settling claims against the Sun, while denying that It Was The Sun Wot Done It, the Cosa Rupra grudgingly admitted what had been suspected for decades. Without that admission, Haz would not have settled, whatever the scale of the cash mountain on offer. Which was, it seems, in excess of £10 million.

In other words, had the trial gone ahead, even if Haz and Tom had won, they would have had to be awarded more than that sum in order to avoid being hit with the bill for both sides’ costs. It was the kind of risk that put paid to others’ determination to go to trial. This time, NGN will pay for everything, which may well cause the final bill to exceed £25 million. All to stop it going to trial.

As the Guardian told, “The Duke of Sussex has settled his high court legal action … against the publisher of the Sun, News Group Newspapers (NGN) … NGN offered ‘a full and unequivocal apology’ to Prince Harry ‘for the phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of private information by journalists and private investigators instructed by them’ at the News of the World”.

There was more. Haz’ barrister David Sherborne added “I am pleased to announce to the court that the parties have reached an agreement. As a result of the parties reaching an agreement I would ask formally that the trial is vacated … NGN offers a full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex for the serious intrusion by the Sun between 1996 and 2011 into his private life, including incidents of unlawful activities carried out by private investigators working for the Sun”. And who worked for the paper then?

Not only Ms Brooks, but also former Screws and Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan, something which should be borne in mind whenever The Great Man passes adverse comment on Haz and Megs, which happens rather a lot.

Sherborne, meanwhile, wasn’t finished. “The truth that has now been exposed is that NGN unlawfully engaged more than 100 private investigators over at least 16 years on more than 35,000 occasions. This happened as much at The Sun as it did at the News of the World, with the knowledge of all the editors and executives, going to the very top of the company”. Do go on.

“What’s even worse is that in the wake of the 2006 arrest of a royal correspondent, there was an extensive conspiracy to cover up what really had been going on and who knew about it. Senior executives deliberately obstructed justice by deleting over 30 million emails, destroying back-up tapes, and making false denials - all in the face of an ongoing police investigation. They then repeatedly lied under oath to cover their tracks - both in court and at the Leveson public inquiry”. You read that right. Carry on.

“Far from being relics of a distant past, many of those behind these unlawful practices remain firmly entrenched in senior positions today, both within News UK and other media outlets across the world, wielding editorial power and perpetuating the toxic culture in which they continue to thrive”.

Anyone might think he was referring to the currently under-fire Will Lewis. Here on Zelo Street, there is quiet satisfaction that the story first picked up on in July 2009 (see HERE, HERE and HERE) continues to - rightly - embarrass our free and fearless press - and not just the Murdoch chapter of it.

Any more to come? You might wish to ask that. I couldn’t possibly comment.

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New Press Revelations No Surprise

Demonstrating that they are as bad as the Tories at making very public judgment calls, the Labour leadership declared recently that Part 2 of the Leveson Inquiry was not a priority for them. This followed claims that assurances of No Leveson 2 had been given to the Murdoch mafiosi in return for the latter’s titles to endorse, or at least lay off, The Red Team.

All of which may not have been such a problem, had ITV not had Tabloids on Trial in the works, which explored the press’ use of what are known as The Dark Arts, and especially in the context of continuing legal actions against their number by people like the Duke of Sussex - whose campaign tells you why there is so much knocking copy directed in his general direction.

Rebecca Barry of ITV News set the scene: “I interview Prince Harry - plus others who found themselves catapulted onto the tabloid front pages … Our documentary also features Hugh Grant, Charlotte Church and Paul Gascoigne - as well as people suddenly thrust into the public eye”.

One of those thrust into the public eye was Paul Dadge, a first responder who had come to the aid of those wounded during the July 7th attacks in London. In return for his giving the press his mobile number, so they could ask him follow-up questions, they hacked his voicemail. He wasn’t a Sleb, there was no public interest defence whatever for the press to fall back on. The default behaviour was, at the time, to hack voicemail. Think about that.

And as to limits to the bad behaviour, there were none. That much has been confirmed by the presence of one Paul McMullan, whose recent book detailing his less than totally ethical activities is named after the phrase he made famous during his interrogation before the Leveson Inquiry - “Privacy is for Paedos”. A piece in Prospect magazine has the grim and gory details.

“The [Screws] had paid a policeman for a tip that Jennifer [Elliott, daughter of Denholm] was a heroin addict … ‘Yeah, I really went too far - she was begging because she had a heroin addiction. And that was enough, but I had to offer 50 quid for a shag. No, I think I changed it to 20 quid and she accepted that … So not only do I expose her as a beggar and a heroin addict, I now expose her as a bloody prostitute, which she wasn’t’”. Do go on.

“She was found hanging a few years later in Ibiza. She hanged herself, committed suicide. And I thought, you know, I went too far on that one”. He went too far when inventing one last vicious story about Diana, Princess of Wales. But “I'm not ashamed of any of the things” he got up to.

But, those who believe we should just “move on”, and that the press has cleaned up its act, will claim this is all in the past and that this kind of thing no longer happens. However, and here we encounter a significantly sized however, we have to take the press on trust for that. And taking the press on trust, in the past, has proved to be a most unwise course of action.

Just what has previously gone on, and may still be going on, was summed up by Paul Gascoigne: “I bought 6 phones, kept on changing numbers and thought, GOD WHEN IS IT GOING TO STOP? I become a recluse, didn’t speak to nobody”. Actor and campaigner Hugh Grant added “This isn’t only about phone hacking- there were microphones & trackers dropped in my car”.

It was more than phone hacking for former PM Gordon Brown: “This group had no limits, hacking my bank, utility accounts, and seeking police information. Even as Chancellor and Prime Minister”. Improper access to the Police National Computer was a costly item for the press. But for the most high profile targets, it was a cost they were prepared to pay.

Having watched Tabloids on Trial, Jim Hawkins concluded “The press hasn't cleaned up its act. There are still huge questions to be answered. And lots of people who watched last night will be asking when the second part of the Leveson Inquiry will happen”. Which last is now down to those controlling business at the Labour Party. Who may think they have nothing to fear.

So the press haven’t come for them yet? They will. And when they do, Labour’s NEC will not be able to out-clever them. Not this time they won’t.

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Kate And A Media Obsession

The most telling giveaway of election coverage, the revelation that this is a campaign destined to develop not necessarily to their favourite team’s advantage, is when it vanishes from the front page. Today is one of those days, the impending loss of power by the Tories replaced by an even more inexplicable obsession - the Royals, or rather, the Royals the press likes.

That means Royalty that does not complain about the sick and creepy coverage served up by our free and fearless press. Which leads us to the return to duty of the Princess of Wales. The former Kate Middleton has had her share of creepy coverage over the years, only out-creeped by what was dished out to her sister Pippa, in the years before the latter married.

The Moniker coined - most likely by the Daily Mail, under the less than benign leadership of the legendarily foul mouthed Paul Dacre - and applied to Pippa was “Her Royal Hotness”, the kind of toe-curlingly embarrassing, borderline vomit inducing, and bang out of order leering misogyny that only the inmates of the Northcliffe House bunker can get away with nowadays.

So Kate has had treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer. So have millions of 42-year-old women, most of whom then pick themselves up and get back to work, family, home, and the rest. For them, there is no press coverage, and certainly not the fawning, creepy and obsessive diet served up this morning, telling readers in no uncertain terms what to think.

The crawling tone is set by papers like the Sunday Brexit, still called the Express, proclaiming “IT’S JUST KATE TO SEE YOU AGAIN … Princess steps out for first time in six months”, and the Murdoch Sun on Sunday simpering “Princess Back On Parade … Kate wows in return to duty after cancer shock … SUPER TROOPER”. Headline writer revealing their age.

But these were a mere hors d’oeuvres for a much more sick-making entrée: cue the Mail on Sunday telling readers “Day That Lifted The Nation’s Hearts … On cue, the sun broke through the showers to shine on her - and the whole world said in unison … It’s lovely to see you too, Kate”. The name on the by-line, to no surprise at all, is that of Sarah “Vain” Vine.

The underlying aggressiveness in the headline is so obvious: the whole world thinks like this, so if you don’t, not only are you not the Mail’s kind of people, you risk incurring the displeasure of the Vagina Monologue and his attack dogs if you so much as utter a peep in protest. Thus the fear of the press at any thought of the monarchy being binned is revealed for all to see.

Moreover, the MoS is not the worst in the crawl-fest: that honour goes to the increasingly desperate and downmarket Telegraph, and the irretrievably batshit Allison Pearson. “Our Fair Lady lifts nation’s spirits [headline writer even older than the Sun’s] … On a cold, grey day, Princess proves a tonic at Trooping the Colour on her return to public life after cancer treatment”.

BIG INTERCOURSING DEAL. Cue Ms Pearson.

“Two words. Thank you. Thank you Princess of Wales for being an absolute trouper and attending Trooping the Colour on a cold, grey day when lesser mortals with your illness would have stayed home, tucked up in their jim-jams [that would not have got past the subs in Bill Deedes’ day]. Thank you for sacrificing the privacy that is so much needed to get you back to full health”.

Whatever that means to those not in possession of servants, unfeasible amounts of money, the most upmarket of property portfolios, a Government prepared to step in and foot rather a lot of the bills, and a media class ready and willing to shit all over anyone who objects to the whole circus.

The Monarchy will endure for as long as it enjoys the support of the people over whom it continues to rule. Our free and fearless press shows that it is an integral part of an Establishment frightened at the thought of reality intruding and the Royals vanishing from view. After all, if they go, what part of the power structure not based on merit will go next? Best keep the proles in line.

Which means more fawning copy when deemed necessary. Ho hum.

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Mail Editors - You’re Sick, Get Help

Not for the first time, today has brought the disturbing sight of a national newspaper indulging in the kind of creepy obsession that, were it coming from an individual with no power or influence, might already have resulted in a visit from the law enforcement agencies, together with the direct suggestion that the individual concerned occupy their time in some other way.

To no surprise at all, the newspaper (for some value of newspaper, given what it splashes on its front page today has Sweet Fanny Adams to do with the major anxieties of the people) is the Rothermere Daily Mail. And, also unsurprisingly, the subjects of the Mail’s creepy obsession are the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Which illustrates the press’ Royal dichotomy.

“Royal Special One”, at the top of the page, tells “The image the world has been waiting to see: smiling Kate out walking with William”. Is it really Kate? It’s a bit of a blurry image. Still, on to “Royal Special Two”, with the Mail capitals out, meaning this is something telling readers what to think. “HARRY AND MEGHAN ARE DOWNGRADED BY PALACE”. Eh?

The alleged story, under the by-line of Rebecca English, who is claimed to be the paper’s “Royal Editor”, goes on “HARRY and Meghan were ‘downgraded’ on the official Buckingham Palace website last night … Despite acrimoniously stepping down [false premise] as senior working royals in January 2020, full profiles of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex separately had remained up alongside of the rest of the Royal Family until this morning”. Do go on.

“Tonight those pictures and biographies briefly vanished completely. Within half an hour they were replaced with a significantly smaller, joint biography at the very bottom of the page - below the Duke of York … The Sussexes' entry now reads that they have stepped back as working royals, with just a couple of short paragraphs on each of them”. Which tells us what, exactly?

It tells us that the Mail, under the less than benign leadership of its editor-in-chief, the legendarily foul mouthed Paul Dacre, not only considers the Royal pecking order more important than anything else, but that the paper has someone poring over even a small change to the Buck House website.

Stop f***ing making it about me, c***

And then comes another false premise: “Despite growing public anger at the Sussexes' continued inclusion, Buckingham Palace has always side-stepped questions about why their details remained online”. Growing public anger? Isn’t the Mail getting confused here? “Public anger”, growing or otherwise, is not the same as Dacre getting radged at Haz suing the paper.

So the first discovery of the alleged “downgrade” may have been made elsewhere. But only the Mail has made it, and a blurry image of Wills and Kate, which is already arousing suspicion as to its authenticity, into a story covering the front page to the exclusion of any actual news.

It even puts former Screws and Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan, who arguably allowed his obsession with the Duchess of Sussex to get him the sack from ITV Good Morning Britain, in the shade. A couple who had an entry on a website still have an entry on that website, but the entry is now smaller than the one they had before. That beats cost of living crises, war in Ukraine, tens of thousands blown to bits in Gaza, and of course climate change.

Because the Mail titles are still prepared to give a hearing to those who deny that it’s happening. But not when they have their Sussex obsession to parade, while screaming to the world that they have no sense of self-awareness and reminding us at every turn of their iron rule “if our targets refuse to deal with us, then we will deal with them”.

That lack of self-awareness means no mention of broken infrastructure, not even a front page item defending the Government the Mail has been cheering on for the past fourteen years, or anything about all those refugees crossing the channel in small boats. Nothing on potholes, food banks, crumbling schools, the NHS on its back, and a population increasingly skint.

But the whole front page given over to a blurry Royal snap, and another obsessive attack on a couple who won’t be reading it. Sick indeed.

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Harry Humiliates Mirror - And Morgan

Hot on the heels of former Screws and Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan having his piss-poor show cancelled by the Murdoch mafiosi in another round of cost-cutting at broadcast media noise floor occupant TalkTV has come the news that Morgan’s former manor, the Mirror titles, have been given what The Italian Job’s Mr Bridger might have called A Good Going Over.

Evening all

Worse for The Great Man, this has been dealt out by someone Morgan hates with a passion: along with his legal team, the Duke of Sussex has concluded his lawsuit against Reach, the current owners of the Mirror, very much to his satisfaction and on his terms. As Press Gazette has reported, “Prince Harry has settled the remaining parts of his phone hacking claim against the publisher of the Daily Mirror, the High Court has heard”. There was more.

“The Duke of Sussex, 39, sued Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) for damages, claiming journalists at its publications were linked to methods including phone hacking, so-called ‘blagging’ - gaining information by deception - and use of private investigators for unlawful activities”. And more.

“In December, a judge ruled that phone hacking became ‘widespread and habitual’ at MGN titles in the late 1990s and was practised ‘even to some extent’ during the Leveson Inquiry into press standards in 2011 … Thirty-three articles in Harry’s claim were examined during the trial last year, with 15 articles found to have been the product of unlawful information gathering”.

And then comes the bad news for the Mirror: “A further 115 articles were in his claim, which may have been the subject of a further trial … However, during a hearing in London on Friday, his barrister David Sherborne confirmed a settlement had been reached between the duke and MGN”.

It had? “Sherborne said the publisher will pay Harry ‘a substantial additional sum by way of damages’ as well as his legal costs, and that it would make an interim payment of £400,000”. To which Byline Investigates added “Earlier in the hearing this morning at the High Court, the judge ordered MGN to pay around £2 million for losing the 'generic' part of the case about systemic crime and lies at the paper between 1998 -2011”. Ouch! And it gets worse.

And what's more, Ron ...

Harry’s statement told “Everything we said was happening at Mirror Group was in fact happening, and indeed, far worse, as the court ruled in an extremely damaging judgment. As the judge has said only this morning, we have uncovered and proved the shockingly dishonest way in which the Mirror acted for so many years, and then sought to conceal the truth”.

And then came the burn. “Harry, via Sherborne, said Morgan ‘knew perfectly well what was going on’ and that his “contempt for the court’s ruling and his continued attacks ever since demonstrate why it was so important to obtain a clear and detailed judgment”. Remember that the Mirror’s lawyers declined to call Morgan as a witness. Could be something to do with unreliability.

Moreover, it’s not over yet: as the BBC report has noted, “the prince vowed to continue his ‘mission’ to shine a light on press intrusion ‘through to the end’”, adding “he didn’t come for the money - he came for vindication and now has his sights on Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Daily Mail, and News Group newspapers, which publishes the Sun”. Mail and Sun, eh?

Remember that when those titles splash another round of bad faith smears against Haz and Megs. Remember that Morgan used to be an “editor at large” for Mail Online, and that his deal to front the now defunct Piers Morgan Uncensored was reckoned to result in him trousering a cool fifty million from the Murdoch mafiosi. And don’t forget what campaigning group Hacked Off have told us about possible ramifications from the Harry v Mirror action.

Like this part of Harry’s statement: “It is now for the police to pursue charges of perjury against any senior employees or ex-employees at the publisher who misled the first part of the Leveson Inquiry in their denials of knowledge of phone hacking”. Maybe aimed at the Mirror. And the Mail. And the Sun.

Why does our free and fearless press keep hating on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex? You might wish to ask that. I couldn’t possibly comment.

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So Farewell Then Piers Morgan

One almost feels sorry for Creepy Uncle Rupe and his UK deputy, the twinkle toed yet domestically combative Rebekah Brooks, at their vain attempts to emulate Fox News Channel (fair and balanced my arse) in Britain. Not only is the potential audience unsustainably small, but their entrant TalkTV has competition for the attention of conspiracy theorising wackos from Gammon Broadcasting™ News (“Bacon’s News Channel”).

And what's more, Ron ...

So when Rupe cut a deal for the services of former Screws and Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan, reputedly for around 50 million Dollars, Sterling or Euro (whatever the currency unit concerned, he overpaid, and then some), it was the highest of high risk scenarios. Or he just sprayed his dosh up the wall.

The result of this deal was yet another iteration of The All New Percy Moron Show, the format tried previously on CNN with a measure of success not unadjacent to zero. Morgan took over Larry King’s 2000 hours Eastern slot and the ratings, after a few days’ improvement, just carried on down the pan.

CNN tolerated Morgan for just over three years before cancelling his show; the Murdoch mafiosi have now demonstrated that their patience does not extend as far. As the Guardian has now reported, “Piers Morgan has announced he is leaving his TalkTV daily evening show, less than two years after its launch, to focus on his YouTube channel”. Then came the excuses.

“The Piers Morgan Uncensored channel has grown to 2.3 million subscribers since 2022 … He described the channel as having a ‘startup mentality’ and said the change would allow for longer interviews with bigger guests supported by more clips. Some of the interviews will be shown on TalkTV”.

Do go on. “Morgan, 58, said: ‘It’s clear there’s a huge global demand for the content we’re making, but the commitment to a daily show at a fixed schedule, with all the editing and time sensitivities that involves, has been an increasingly unnecessary straitjacket … People are watching the content on YouTube rather than conventional television and I have no problem with that … You can’t defy audiences or tell them how they should be consuming’”.

There was more of this self-justification. “I could happily interview Elon Musk for three or four hours tomorrow and the audience would lap it up [this audience is strong on masochism, then]. But the nightly restriction of having to go into a studio at 8pm when sometimes there is nothing happening and literally fill time? Nobody wants that. The question becomes, why do it?” If only this excuse had been dreamed up before the show aired, eh?

The reality is that Morgan’s TalkTV show has lasted less than two years before being pulled from the schedule. Its ratings have been lamentably bad. TalkTV gets rather better value for money from flap-mouthed bigot Julia Hartley Dooda and its resident Tub Of Lard impressionist Mike Graham. Meanwhile, the channel, and GB News, are shipping money at a rate somewhere beyond alarming. Why this should be is not hard to figure out.

Fox News manages a decent audience, but across the whole of the USA, a country with around 335 million inhabitants. The UK has 67 million, or one-fifth of the US total. And the British version of Fox News was late enough to the party for GB News to become established first. It ain’t rocket science.

This organisation does not tolerate failure. I have decided on the appropriate action

The perpetually thirsty Paul Staines and his rabble at the Guido Fawkes blog are claiming that it is most likely Rupert Murdoch personally pulled the plug on Morgan’s TalkTV show. As the deal was for three years, presumably Morgan will be able to spend more than a year doing nothing and still be paid millions of currency units for doing so. Nice work if you can get it.

More time for The Great Man to blag a table at the Chiltern Firehouse, or wherever One Has To Go To Be Seen Alongside Genuinely Famous People nowadays. More time for him to reflect on the bridges burnt at the Mirror and ITV Good Morning Britain. And more time for him to know that accusations of involvement in illegal information gathering lap ever closer to his shore.

Piers Morgan was for a time, but not for all time. Just rejoice at that news.

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King Has Cancer - Haz To Blame

On Monday last came the news which would keep our free and fearless press in front page headlines and why-oh-why punditry for days afterwards: the King had cancer. This had been discovered during his recent prostate surgery, though what part of the body was affected was not told. Charles is 75, and half the population will get some kind of cancer in their lifetime.

Sarah Vine - only hinting ...

So it should not have been such a shock. Nonetheless, every front page, including the FT, gave the Royal condition due prominence yesterday. What was also given front page billing was the Duke of Sussex hastening to be by his father’s side, though by today, the spite and bad faith merchants at titles like the Daily Mail were already using this to kick Haz.

Hence this morning’s headline “HARRY SPENDS JUST 45 MINUTES WITH CHARLES … and Duke and William have no plans to meet at all”. Yes, he got the first London flight out of Los Angles, endured an eleven hour journey, was then driven straight to Clarence House, and this was WRONG and BAD.

This spiteful and hate-generating drivel is reminiscent of Lyndon Johnson bemoaning the constant negative press coverage he received as the Vietnam war went from bad to worse for the USA, reportedly telling an aide “If I went down to the Potomac and walked across it, tomorrow’s headline in the [Washington] Post would be ‘President can’t swim’”.

But at least the Mail has not (yet) sunk to the level of blaming Charles’ condition on his youngest son. Or tried too hard to kick Megs while they’re at it. Sure, Sarah “Vain” Vine approached the bad taste line with her column today, but stopped short of saying that the Sussexes Done It. “Harry has - to put it mildly - been at war with his father for the past few years” she begins.

Do go on: “as well as having to cope with the death of his beloved Mama, the King has been left utterly heartbroken by his younger son’s attacks, both on him personally, on Queen Camilla and on other members of the family”. No citation. Try again: “it’s clear from the depth of Harry’s rage and resentment that he is a troubled soul … nothing pains a parent like seeing their children fighting”. Nearly saying it. But not saying it. Then she gets close.

... while Mike Parry actually goes there

“If I were Harry and I were being brutally honest with myself, I might feel a slight tinge of concern that the current family breakdown might not be the best medicine for his father’s ill-health”. Nudge nudge, wink wink, eh Squire? But over at Gammon Broadcasting™ News (“Bacon’s news channel”) there is no such reticence. This morning, fascist bigot Mike Parry has gone there.

Here’s his pitch. “Could the stress of having to sort out the Harry situation of the past two years have contributed to his illness? Because we know that stress does contribute to illness. Stress can give you heart attacks. Stress can give you nervous conditions, and I believe if you ask top doctors, they’ll say yes, it could be responsible for at least enhancing the King’s anxiety”.

Cue someone billed as a Top Doctor being summoned to back up this hokum later today. But there was more. “And that anxiety in itself might have worked its way physically into his body … I mean, the more you worry about things in life, you do inherit medical conditions, without a shadow of a doubt. Like for instance heart … who’s to say that can’t affect you in other areas of your body with other diseases?” Thus speaks an expert on, er, nothing at all.

Yes, who’s to say? But as the Tweeter known as GB News Spin Room reminded us, “Mike Parry claimed on GB News that the stress of dealing with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, was causation for The King’s cancer diagnosis. No point complaining though, Ofcom think this is totally fine”.

Plus GB News will probably throw him a few more biscuits for being the first one to say what more of their dubiously talented roster of gobshites will be saying very soon. I mean, it’s only FREEZE PEACH, innit? From there it’s not far to Haz and Megs having open season declared on them. Who was it that took out a lawsuit against the Mail’s publishers? What a coincidence.

GB News leapt from gutter to sewer long ago. So at least they’re consistent.

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The Mail - Politics’ Malignant Cancer

As the dust settles on the bad jobs news from South Wales, with between 2,500 and 3,000 due to lose their livelihoods this year as the Port Talbot steelworks makes the transition from coal-fired to electric arc furnaces, there is our free and fearless press telling the electorate what to think about the news, with the inmates of the Northcliffe House bunker in the vanguard.

Who might have caused vaccine uptake to fall?

And the Mail hacks are carrying out their orders despite their having called this one wrong. It is the Mail way: call it wrong, be called out, double down, smear those doing the calling out, demonise anyone of inconvenient thought, then at a convenient distance down the track, play the other side of the field, coming over all righteous over something they advocated in the first place.

So what’s caused the job losses at Port Talbot, owned nowadays by Indian company Tata Steel? Mail pundit and former Murdoch editor Andrew Neil was in no doubt. “Port Talbot is the latest victim of the Tory Government's headlong rush towards Net Zero carbon emissions which has pushed up British energy prices and made what's left of our heavy industry uneconomic”.

This evidence-free claim has been taken up by the Mail on Sunday’s political editor Glen Owen: “Critics have argued that the Net Zero target of eliminating additional greenhouse emissions by 2050 was helping to cripple the UK's industrial base. The job losses at Port Talbot, Britain's biggest steelworks, follow the replacement of its blast furnaces with an electric arc furnace that will emit less CO2”. What did former First Minister Carwyn Jones think?

It was put to him that Tory MPs and the likes of former Brexit Party Oberscheissenführer Nigel “Thirsty” Farage had blamed the job losses on “Net Zero hysteria or climate policy”. His response? “Why is it that the Netherlands’ plant at IJmuiden, and Tata’s operations elsewhere in the EU, are not being affected … it’s the UK’s operations that are talking the brunt”.

There was more. “We’ve seen what’s happened in the EU, we’ve seen what’s happened in the UK, why the difference? Brexit has created all this uncertainty … When you leave one of the world’s biggest markets, it is inevitable that you will not have the same ability to export unless you put in place … arrangements to enable you to do as you did before”.

Which had not happened. But for the Mail titles, this could not be admitted, as the Daily Mail had shilled for Brexit. Therefore it could not be Brexit’s fault. Worse, had the Government not bunged Tata £500 million to make the electric arc transition, Port Talbot would most likely have closed completely.

And what happened last time there was a Lawson Boom?

That would have been 8,000 jobs down the pan. And the previous day, the Mail was bemoaning “UK GRIPPED BY MEASLES CRISIS … ‘National incident’ declared over disease we wiped out in 2016’”. Not a shred of self-awareness: the Mail spent years demonising the MMR jab. So take-up fell.

Then Mail pundit Melanie “not just Barking but halfway to Upminster” Phillips churned out article after article. “MMR safe? Baloney” she told, on the back of no medical qualifications whatever. No matter: the Mail declared her to be a “top writer”. Now, people are contracting measles and some will die from it. The Mail does not care. Nor does it care about its backing of dud leaders.

It backed Liz Truss. I’ll type that one again: IT BACKED LIZ TRUSS. It launched a virulently anti-Semitic attack on then Labour leader Ed Miliband - then came over all righteous when Miliband’s successor was smeared as an anti-Semite. It backs the most inept, corrupt and malign Government the UK has known. And today it is openly backing another political wrong turn.

“HUNT: TAX CUTS WILL SPARK NEW LAWSON BOOM” it today’s headline. Except, as Jonathan Portes has observed, “The ‘Lawson Boom’ was a catastrophic episode of macroeconomic mismanagement that ended in economic and political disaster”. Which preceded a painful recession. Only after Black Wednesday and the ignominy of another Sterling devaluation did the economy begin to recover. The Mail wants a bit more of that.

Whatever the Mail wants, the UK suffers when it happens. This is not a newspaper. It is a malignant cancer on the body politic. That is all.

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Harry Wins - Hello Piers Morgan

Why does former Screws and Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan dislike Prince Harry so much? Well, the fact that Haz is the one married to Megs is one part of it, given that Morgan thought he had an entry into the Royal Family but ended up blanked, and not even getting a wedding invite. But the other part has been Harry’s tenacious pursuit of illegal information gathering.

Evening all

The latter led, this morning, to the High Court, where, as the BBC has reported, we also found out why Morgan has a similar dislike for author Omid Scobie. The latter interned at the Mirror titles. And it was the Mirror titles that lost this one. Big Time. “Mr Justice Fancourt says that [Haz’] personal phone was targeted between 2003 and 2009” tells the Beeb. And there was more.

“He says 15 of 33 sample articles were ‘the product of phone hacking … or the product of other unlawful information gathering’ … He rules there was ‘extensive’ phone hacking by Mirror Group Newspapers from 2006 to 2011”. Put another way, that means the hacking continued for around two years after Nick Davies, then at the Guardian, blew the whistle on the practice.

Indeed, the practice continued “‘Even to some extent’ during the Leveson Inquiry into media standards”. It got worse. “Mr Justice Fancourt rules ex-Mirror CEO Sly Bailey knew of hacking and ‘turned a blind eye’ … Mr Justice Fancourt says while the sum [£140,600 in damages] is modest they also reflect the hurt experienced by the Duke of Sussex because of Mirror Group Newspaper's (MGN) concealment of the wrongdoing”.

And worse still. “The judge stresses he found Harry's associates were also unlawfully targeted by MGN”. MGN have held up their hands. “Where historical wrongdoing took place, we apologise unreservedly, have taken full responsibility and paid appropriate compensation”. Now the $64k question.

Which concerns the normally brash and combative Morgan, about whom Scobie had told the court “in 2002 he had witnessed Morgan discuss an article about Kylie Minogue and Morgan, the then editor, had asked the journalist how confident they were about the story. Morgan was told, Scobie recalled, that the source had been a voicemail”. What say the Judge?

And what's more, Ron ...

“Mr Justice Fancourt said that recollection was supported by evidence of an invoice from a private investigator related to obtaining Minogue’s mobile phone number and that of her then partner, James Gooding … [he said] I found Mr Scobie to be a straight-forward and reliable witness and I accept what he said about Mr Morgan’s involvement in the Minogue/Gooding story”.

Worse news for Morgan was that his former employers did not defend Scobie’s claim, the Judge observing “No evidence was called by MGN to contradict it”. Then came the really bad news for TalkTV’s big earner.

The Beeb’s Dominic Casciani noted “Piers Morgan knew about phone hacking - and was involved - when he was editor of the Daily Mirror, the High Court has ruled … In a highly significant part of the judgment, Mr Justice Fancourt lists times when Morgan was said to have been aware of phone hacking - and the evidence had not been contested. He also said that he found evidence about Morgan’s involvement to be credible and it had not been countered by the Mirror Group”. OUCH! There was more.

David Sherborne, representing Haz, said “on behalf of Prince Harry, that the Duke of Sussex 'respectfully calls on authorities, the financial regulator, stock markets… and the Metropolitan Police and prosecuting authorities to do their duty for the British public and investigate bringing charges against the company and those who broke the law’”. So what say Piers Morgan?

So far? Nothing. Nix. Nil. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Not a sausage. Bugger all. No protestations of innocence. No new attacks on Haz and Megs, or indeed, anyone who has brought cases against his former employers, the Murdoch mafiosi, or Associated Newspapers. But he does want you to know that he got great ratings last night. Which just about sums up the press mindset.

But in the real world, the ends did not justify the means. Hello Piers Morgan.

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Piers Morgan Ultimate Desperation

Ratings. They drive the reputation of broadcasters, the attention of advertisers, the fragile egos of presenters. Without good ratings, shows languish, are avoided by those advertisers, and ultimately get cancelled, whoever hosts them. So it is understandable that broadcasters and their hosts will go to great lengths to improve those all-important ratings.

And what's more, Ron

Those great lengths can lurch all too easily into desperation. Add in the evidence of creepy obsession, and we arrive at the latest effort by former Screws and Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan to get the ratings of his supposedly “Uncensored” show, on Murdoch property TalkTV, off the noise floor. As so often, his efforts mean slagging off the Duchess of Sussex.

Morgan thought he had an in with the Royals when Megs, who he had met once in London, became engaged to Haz. But it looks very much as if her future husband’s experiences at the hands of our free and fearless press, of which Morgan is a paid-up establishment member, became known to her, and the former editor soon found himself blanked. And it got worse.

He threw a mardy strop live on ITV Good Morning Britain, walking off the set when confronted about his Megs obsession, and very soon after that was told his services were no longer required. He blamed Megs. It was, as for so many in the media, someone else’s fault. Except it wasn’t.

Now, with the news that a book by Omid Scobie about the Royals called Endgame has allegedly named two people who “had concerns” about the skin colour of Haz’n’Megs’ first child (but only in the version published in the Netherlands, you understand), everything has come together for The Great Man. He dislikes the Duchess obsessively. He detests Scobie. He could now do them both over and score more ratings: he would name the names.

And so it came to pass: “Either Omid Scobie or the Sussexes come forward with evidence of racism, or this will be Endgame for his career” boasted The Great Man. He named the names. Perhaps his ratings improved. But here the same problem he had on GMB going up against the Beeb enters: the way in which the ratings were improved cannot be replicated on a daily basis.

Make his pay performance related? Good idea Mate

Worse, he could not refrain from abuse. “Scobie’s obviously lying (again). I’m told the two names in the Dutch edition match the names of the alleged ‘racists’ cited in the Meghan/Charles letter exchange post-Oprah, which Scobie details in his book with info he can only have got from Ms Markle or her pals”. His paper hacked on an industrial scale. Calls liar on others.

Do go on. “The ongoing malevolent guilt-by-association smearing of the entire Royal Family as a bunch of racists, ignited by the Sussexes with zero evidence, and now fuelled by their lying lickspittle [Omid Scobie] is disgusting. I'll be addressing this on tonight’s [show]”. Malevolent smearing just about sums up Morgan’s pursuit of the Sussexes. And there is more.

“Comical to watch lying Sussex lickspittle [Omid Scobie] say he’s never written a draft of his book naming the 2 supposed royal ‘racists’. How else did the Dutch version get printed with those explosive details? He wouldn’t know the truth if it slapped him round his Botoxed chops”. Yes, there goes the ad-hominem abuse again. Then came his direct smear of Haz’n’Megs.

“The silence from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex is increasingly damning. They normally rush to denounce [no citation], and sue anyone who reveals details of their private correspondence .. why is [Omid Scobie] getting a pass for revealing such damaging information? Did they give it to him?”. Yesterday’s Daily Mail recycled: they must denounce Scobie, or they become complicit. Both Morgan and the Mail seek more attention; both fail to find it.

What is not told - so I will - is that this is a desperate throw of the dice: Morgan has been paid an eight-figure sum for his services, the ratings aren’t coming, and Rupe and his team are getting impatient. 8.7 million Twitter followers, yet few tune in. He’s been reduced to interviewing Kyle Rittenhouse. A white creep who got away with murdering BLM supporters.

The low moaning sound in the noise floor that is The All New Percy Moron Show was for a time, but not for all time. Just rejoice at that news.

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Covid Probe Bad News? Royal Dead Cat

The inquiry into the handling of the Covid-19 Pandemic is turning out, for the Government, to be a campaign developing not necessarily to their advantage, not that many newspaper readers will know. Disgraced former alleged Prime Minister Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson comes out of the grillings particularly badly; his current successor Rishi Sunak looks little better.

Actual real world news? Maybe not

This is, of course, before either of them gives evidence in person, with the impression being given that Bozo may have already perjured himself with his previously submitted statement to the Inquiry. So the press has had to look elsewhere for its headline deflection. The Mail made the March Against Anti-Semitism front page news on Monday, but a problem has since entered.

An attendance of 60,000 was claimed for the march, which the Mail inflated to a nice round 100,000. However, and here we encounter a significantly sized however, analysis of the crowd has since concluded that the number taking part may have been no more than 2,000. Luckily for the inmates of the Northcliffe House bunker, Monday’s Mail front page had another item.

And that was the ever-reliable Royal story, as in championing Brian, his eldest son, Camilla, and Kate, while mercilessly slagging off the Sussexes and anyone associated with them. Omid Scobie, who is considered to be close to Haz’n’Megs - as in, closer than all the no-marks in the London media establishment who invent Sussex stories - has a book out.

Moreover, not only is it a book about that part of the Royal Family that the Mail supports, it has also had excerpts published in France, which means the press having to find someone who speaks French in order to accurately translate it. Scobie has warned against inaccurate translation of the excerpts, but the hunger of the press pack for Royal goss and dead cats prevailed.

And by yesterday, with its release in Australia, Endgame, in which, as Wikipedia tells, “he aims criticism the British royal family as an institution as well as at individual members of the family, especially the Princess of Wales”, was now available in English. So there was no need for the Mail to pretend it was steadfastly against anti-Semitism, and off came the gloves.

This is who you have to hate, Mail readers

While Michael “Oiky” Gove appeared at the Covid Inquiry yesterday, Mail readers were digesting the thundering instruction of what to think. “Royal Book Bombshell … Omid Scobie claims ‘cold’ Princess of Wales is a ‘part-time Royal’ … belittles Charles as ‘inept’ and says William ‘stonewalls’ Harry … Last night appalled Royal sources said new book is simply … POISONOUS”.

In piled the Daily Brexit, still called the Express, in support: “JUST NASTY! Author Scobie takes a swipe at ‘part-time’ Kate”. The increasingly desperate and downmarket Telegraph sniffs “Scobie’s shameful Royal hatchet job”. But that was merely the Hors d’Oeuvres before a suitably pungent Entrée, as this morning’s Mail has gone Full Screaming Batshit Dacre on its readers.

“SCOBIE BOOK PULLED FOR NAMING ‘ROYAL RACIST’ BY MISTAKE … Sales halted in Holland [they mean the Netherlands] after Dutch version appears to identify family member [they don’t actually know] who allegedly asked about Archie’s skin colour”. Gaza? Nope. Ukraine? Not as such. Cost of living crisis? Nah. Covid Inquiry? Never heard of it, honestly.

There is even comment from the Mail’s least appealing Glenda, Sarah “Vain” Vine, who tells “If Harry and Meghan don’t denounce this poison, we can only assume they endorse it”. Yes, it’s their fault. Who was it that Haz was taking to court for alleged illegal information gathering? But seriously, this shows anyone still in any doubt that the Mail is not a publication majoring in news.

The Royal Book story only manages fifth spot on the BBC website this morning, and that may well be driven by fear of the press establishment rounding on the Corporation for not giving the story that they have deemed the day’s most important due prominence. But this charade of journalism does have one benefit, even if only one person enjoys it.

Sales of Endgame will soar as a result. Which may hurt the monarchy that the Mail is trying to support. Be careful what you wish for, and all that.

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Hamas - BBC To Blame

Our free and fearless press will scrape through the sturdiest barrel, leap from the dirtiest gutter into the filthiest sewer, redefine shamelessness, abandon moral values completely, lie through its teeth, and all the while claim with faux righteousness that it holds the high ground, in order to put the boot in on the hated BBC. Something that the Gaza conflict has illustrated superbly.

Some out there on the right of the press establishment, have taken one look at the bloodshed, the devastation, the flouting of international law, the blood-curdling threats, and the brutal snuffing out of hope, and have decided that this is, where kicking the Beeb is concerned, the hill on which they are prepared to die. And it’s all over the use, or lack of it, of the T-Word.

The BBC does not, as a matter of objectivity and a refusal to take sides, use words like “Terrorist” to describe organisations like Hamas. It did not use that word to describe the Provisional IRA; it limited itself to calling the Nazis “The enemy”. Veteran correspondent John Simpson has laid out the reasoning and the background in an article for the Corporation’s website (HERE).

Predictably, this has cut no ice with the inmates of the Northcliffe House bunker, where today’s Daily Mail has gone Full Dacre as its front page lead thunders “As Charles AND William both condemn Hamas, our national broadcaster is still calling them ‘Militants’ … THE KING CALLS THEM TERRORISTS, WHY CAN’T THE BBC?” Why go why oh why oh why.

The supporting article tells “King Charles last night condemned the ‘barbaric acts of terrorism’ inflicted on Israel. The monarch was backed by the Prince and Princess of Wales, who said they were ‘profoundly distressed’ at the unfolding civilian slaughter, adding: ‘The horrors inflicted by Hamas’s terrorist attack upon Israel are appalling.’” Appalling. Like ghastly Nicholas Witchell.

But do go on. “William and Kate went even further, highlighting the country’s ‘right of self-defence’. The royals’ deliberate use of the word ‘terrorism’ to describe the atrocities came in sharp contrast to the BBC, which refuses to call Hamas a ‘terrorist’ organisation”. So they expressed their opinion. Was there a talking head the Mail could call on for support?

Behold the arbiter of righteousness and decency

Sure was. “It refers to Hamas as a ‘militant’ group and described the slaughter of civilians as a ‘militant’ attack. Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis accused broadcasters of trying to ‘wilfully mislead’ by not using the word terrorist, saying: ‘The murder of babies where they sleep is not the act of a “freedom fighter”.’” No-one called Hamas “freedom fighters”, either.

And perhaps there was another of those here today and gone tomorrow politicians ready to take the Biscuit. “A string of high-profile figures, including Defence Secretary Grant Shapps and Labour leader Keir Starmer, yesterday heaped pressure on the BBC over its approach to covering the murder of Israeli civilians. Mr Shapps told LBC that it was ‘verging on disgraceful’, adding: ‘It’s time to get the moral compass out at the BBC.’”.

Grant “Spiv” Shapps (or maybe it was Michael Green and/or Sebastian Fox) says someone else should “get the moral compass out”? As Billy Connolly once said, there’s going tae be some swearing. FUCK OFF. Shapps regularly gives the impression that his moral compass departed many years ago.

And on it goes. “Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer has raised the issue with BBC director-general Tim Davie and made clear her view that these were ‘acts of terror carried out by a terrorist organisation’. The Board of Deputies of British Jews said that by calling Hamas ‘militants’, the BBC ‘not only offers legitimacy to their government, but also denies the fact that they commit atrocities’”.

No. Just no. And what makes this confected outrage worse is where the non-story was incubated. Yes, the perpetually thirsty Paul Staines and his rabble at the Guido Fawkes blog - no strangers to anti-Semitic hit jobs - started this particular ball rolling at 1051 hours. Plenty of time for an increasingly less well resourced Daily Mail to recycle the story. That’s how desperate the press are.

They even recycled the false baby beheading claim. What a shower.

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Queen Anniversary - Mail Smear

The state of both economy and Government continue to inspire no confidence at all, and so for our free and fearless press, there is the need to get their readers to look elsewhere. Mostly, that means scaring the crap out of them by once more majoring on an escaped prisoner, of whose whereabouts the Metropolitan Police appear clueless. And there’s always Royalty.

Yes, it’s a whole year since Brenda finally shuffled off and left the Top Job to Brian, and an opportunity for the press to admit that they have to keep putting out grovelling propaganda for fear that The Great Unwashed might begin to question what the purpose of the dysfunctional Saxe-Coburg-Gotha gang was all about. So out is wheeled the King’s thanks for all the love and support.

What that? Apart from telling those of us who live somewhere that dispensed with Royalty more than a century ago that their adoptive country did the right thing, give or take the odd assassination or two, it props up the myth of a people prepared to support the monarchy because, well, it’s written, that’s why. And nowhere is it written more grovelingly than the Daily Mail.

The Dacre Doggies’ venture into Tedious Maximus territory is presented as “6 pages of sparkling tributes”. Perhaps you need to have necked a bottle of Méthode Traditionelle before reading it. There is the inevitable “Republicans foretold end of monarchy - they were wrong”, just to tell readers which side of this debate is the right one for the Mail’s Kind Of People.

But the real purpose of the inmates of the Northcliffe House bunker is to use the first anniversary of the Queen’s passing as an excuse to put the boot in, once more, on the Sussexes. The Mail has to hate someone, and today’s two minutes is directed at Haz. “Ahead of first anniversary of our late Queen’s death, proof the reconciliation she longed for is as far away as ever … WARRING ROYAL BROTHERS STILL 100 MILES APART”.

For someone who the press claims is no longer relevant to the Monarchy, Haz sure generates a lot of copy, most of it entirely made up, such as the “reconciliation she longed for”, for which we are supposed to take the Mail’s shower of Royal “experts” (ho ho ho) on trust. Yeah, right.

We are also supposed to take on trust the idea that two people taking different paths in their lives are therefore “warring”. Take this snippet from the supporting article: “Amid the poignancy of the occasion, their continuing rift is a sad reminder of the pain Harry’s action caused Queen Elizabeth in the latter years of her life”. Pain that the Mail’s Royal correspondents also made up.

There was more. “Harry, 38, made the whirlwind trip to the UK minus his wife and children [Boo! Baddie! Cue rift stories!] and without seeing any of his immediate family, including his father who is in Scotland [Boo! Bad boy!]. He attended an awards ceremony on behalf of WellChild, a charity supporting terminally ill youngsters and their families”. Not even the Mail can diss that.

Nor does it sneer at “He will fly on to Dusseldorf to attend the Invictus Games for injured service personnel, which he helped to found, and where he will be joined by wife Meghan next week”. Oops, hold the rift stories. Leave them to devalued, desperate Dan Wootton at Gammon Broadcasting™ News (“Bacon’s News Channel”). Oh hang on, there’s a Sack The Sub moment.

“Harry will be launching the bi-annual games on his own in Germany as his wife Meghan remains home in California with their two young children”. But we are left in no doubt that Haz, who has taken out a lawsuit against the Mail titles, don’t forget, is in the wrong, whatever he does.

“Yesterday the brothers were less than 100 miles from each other, undertaking public engagements, but have no plans to meet before Harry heads to Germany tomorrow”. If they did meet, it would result in yet more knocking copy, more obsession from the terminally devalued Wootton, and yet more obsession from former Screws and Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan, whose fixation on Megs for blanking him is beyond creepy.

If the press carries on with this obsession, it could end in the thing they want to avoid at all costs: the end of the monarchy. Careful what you wish for, eh?

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Mail Ghost Racism EXPOSED

Racist bigotry has for many years been a stock in trade of the right-leaning part of our free and fearless press. Their problem has not been doing the racism - they have no difficulties with that - but ensuring they can muster the appropriate level of plausible deniability, deployed along with righteous indignation, in order to minimise the fallout following publication.

Dominique Samuels

This is done in a variety of ways: the increasingly desperate and downmarket Telegraph crudely excused its anti-Semitic smear of George Soros by telling staff that it wasn’t. Far more convincing was the Mail hiding behind Jewish staff members to excuse its anti-Semitic attack on the memory of the late Ralph Miliband. As well as having a Jewish name on the by-line.

The Mail has now been called out doing something similar to push anti-black racism: having a black author’s name on the by-line. But here’s the twist: the black author didn’t write what appears below that by-line. Ghost writers are nothing new: the Mail is applying a novel twist of saying “It can’t be racist, because a black writer wrote it”, when that writer didn’t.

You think I jest? That is what is alleged by right-wing “culture warrior” Dominique Samuels, in a move that may incur the displeasure of those who labour under the régime of the Mail’s editor in chief, the legendarily foul mouthed Paul Dacre. She’s been asked to have her name on others’ copy.

As she put it: “The outrage fest about Notting Hill Carnival is tiresome and to be honest manufactured … I was asked to be the face of a ghost-written, negative, bordering on racist piece by the Daily Mail paper last year and eventually turned it down because it was a complete misrepresentation of what I witnessed whilst I was there … The violence etc that happens is of course not acceptable but it’s estimated that 2 million people attend the festival every year”. Ava-Santina of PoliticsJOE was unimpressed.

“I think this is a tweet we should be paying a LOT more attention to … Ghostwritten racist piece? Sorry?” Lily Allen was equally unimpressed. “This is beyond fucked up. Unsurprising, but fucked up nonetheless. I wish people wouldn’t buy into these divisive tactics”. Unsurprising. And why so?

Why'd you f***ing keep using my photo, c***?!?!?

The Mail wants to show that Carnival is not the sort of event that the Mail’s Kind Of People should attend. It wants to show that having all these black people around is Not A Good Thing, but doesn’t want to get called out for yet more crude racist bigotry. So it puts a black name on the by-line, and by doing so shows “We can’t be racist, because a black person wrote it”.

Except, as Ms Samuels has now admitted, they didn’t. And it wasn’t the only example: asked about another Meghan hit piece [“This clash of the Royals was about culture - NOT colour”] “was this ghost-written for you?” she conceded “yeah it was”. Professor Jonathan Portes of KCL observed “Even by the standards of the Daily Mail, this is pretty jaw-dropping”. So it was.

Meanwhile, Ms Samuels told “It’s pretty much standard for newspapers to have ghost writers for guest columnists, and I thought because I’d never written for them before it would be fine. Eventually when it came to the Carnivsl article and I been published by them multiple times, I’d had enough and wanted to write it myself for this particular topic”. Or was it?

Ash Sarkar of Novara Media registered her dissent. “I don’t mean this to be shady, but it’s not standard practice at all! Ethics aside, it doesn’t make sense for a newspaper to pay out twice … It's not ‘standard’ to ghostwrite a political opinion piece from a commentator - if true, it's deeply racist and unethical”.

Writer Nels Abbey applied context. “This is very revealing, a public service even. Britain's most popular newspaper ghostwrote a racist article and went hunting for a Black 'culture warrior' to be the face of it. This is the very racism laundering and diversity drenched racism we've been screaming about laid bare”. Or, as another Tweeter put it, “The most important point here is that they’re paying to put the face of a person of colour on racist honk most likely written by some white dude”. The Mail is well and truly busted.

But don’t expect them to stop. The agenda is unchanged, they throw around enough money, and someone will be desperate enough to bite. Sad, really.

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