Very Poor Telegraph Form

The Maily Telegraph, no longer a paper of record, is also apparently having problems with remaining a paper of correct grammar – at least, in its web incarnation. Perhaps it’s the Lib Dem conference that has caused the assembled hacks to froth so much that they have taken their eyes off the ball, but whatever the cause, the results are not good.

Yesterday, we were told that party president Tim Farron considered any rescinding of the the 50p income tax rate to be “Morally repugnant”. Well, that was what Farron said, but by the time the clearly incandescent Telegraph hack had calmed those trembling fingers, it came out as “Morally pugnant” (my version of Word flags that up as incorrect spelling ... Hmmm, pungent or poignant?).

But by today, the howler had been corrected. It could well have been a one-off, but not so “Nick Clegg hits out a ‘ridiculous’ critics”, which I admit Word didn’t flag up, not even for suspect grammar.

This appeared on the Telegraph homepage, and perhaps the slip is understandable, given that it’s allegedly “live”.

But it’s been replicated to an area that isn’t “live”. And someone must have edited the text to add “who say he has betrayed party”.

And it’s appeared in another supposedly “live” context, which also looks as if it would have needed editing, given the addition of Vince Cable’s photo.

Remember all the stick that the Guardian used to get for iffy spelling? Many still affectionately refer to the paper as the “Grauniad”. I must put some effort into renaming the Telegraph. Telegaff, perchance?

EXCLUSIVE: TPA Caught Sponging Off ... Me

[Update at end of post]

While doing my research into Big Brother Watch (BBW), the “campaign” which is effectively a front for the so-called Taxpayers’ Alliance (TPA), I made a most interesting discovery. On the BBW website, the “contact” page – referenced to confirm that BBW and the TPA share the same address – has a photo of the building where they have offices, 55 Tufton Street SW1.

Where did they get that photo?

It’s a familiar looking photo. In fact, it was so familiar looking that I checked it alongside my own photo of that building, which was taken in March this year. And then I saw why the photo on the BBW site looked so familiar: it was the same photo, not even cropped from the version I use when discussing the comfortable surroundings enjoyed by the TPA while urging cuts on others.

Here's a very strong hint

We all do it: gather in images from the web to illustrate posts. But what we also understand is that, should the copyright holders identify themselves and ask that their images are not used, then the right thing is to take down any instance of the images in question, acknowledge the request, and make sure those images are not used again.

So it was initially surprising to receive no reply to my request for removal. Three Tweets and another email later, there has still been no reply. In the meantime, let me put the TPA and BBW faithful straight: there can be no doubt where they got the photo. The proportions of the image and lens settings are identical. They cannot supply the original, as they don’t have it.

This behaviour should not surprise anyone, of course, having already observed the TPA happily sponging off the taxpayer earlier in the year. And it should not surprise the TPA that someone whose copyright they choose to abuse chooses in turn to make an example out of them.

[A post on the supposed “grassroots” activities of the TPA intended for publication today has been held over until tomorrow. Please be patient]

[UPDATE: BBW have now replied, apologised, and have taken down the photo. I accept that the delay was due to their folks being on Lib Dem conference duty in Birmingham, and am glad to see that they have done the right thing on this occasion]

Big Brother Is Watching The TPA Agenda

Freedom of the individual seems to be A Good Thing, a campaigning issue around which a broad consensus can gather and agree. So the group calling itself Big Brother Watch (BBW), which claims to be “freeing the individual”, seems on the face of it to make a positive contribution to the debate over the potential intrusiveness of Government into our lives.

But then one sees the other side of the strapline, “shrinking the state”, and the thought enters that this sounds very much like our old friends at the so-called Taxpayers’ Alliance (TPA). And that is no mere coincidence: BBW has its offices at the same address, 55 Tufton Street SW1, as the TPA. And it is headed by the same person: step forward Matthew “Gromit” Elliott.

Where have we seen this building before?

So it is no surprise that the targets of BBW are all part of that Government that the TPA seeks to demonise. Indeed, BBW concedes that it is “a campaign from the founders of the TPA”. And the two share not only Elliott, but Dominique Lazanski – and Maria Fort, who was one of those sent from London to Ashton-under-Lyne to campaign for the TPA recently, works for BBW.

And this is why BBW campaigns for individual freedom only where Government is involved: there is no mention of private security firms overstepping their powers, no urging that supermarkets cease their frankly paranoid approach to anyone caught writing down prices, and no move against owners of shopping centres who proscribe photography or impose dress codes.

Indeed, BBW talk of being “a force to help a future Government roll back a decade of state interference in our lives”, as if “state interference” is the only kind of restraint on personal freedom. And those commending BBW are an interesting bunch, which includes Telegraph hack Ed “Case” West, the man from NO2ID, and someone from that beacon of accurate and impartial reportage The Register.

And who funds BBW? That, sadly yet predictably, is not told. But that this organisation moves in lockstep with the TPA in using its resources to demonise Government, along with public service and public works, is clear.

[The photograph of 55 Tufton Street will be featuring again in a blog post of its own – very soon]

Liberal Mail Aggression

Just in case anyone was uncertain where the legendarily foul mouthed Paul Dacre stood on the Liberal Democrats, the start of that party’s annual conference has put them straight. And the word from Dacreland is that “Bouncy” Knowles’ latest fan does not like them at all. One cannot conclude otherwise after a raft of personal attacks on the whole of the party’s leadership.

And this should not come as a surprise: it was, after all, the Daily Mail that brought us the magnificently over-the-top “Clegg In Nazi Slur On Britain” front page headline during the last General Election campaign. It is equally unsurprising that Corporal Clegg is number one target this time as well, with a hatchet job alleging he was “In Turmoil” and that he had promised his wife he would quit the leadership.

This came from “A writer with access to his inner circle”, which means a hack that may or may not have spoken to some Lib Dem MPs. Clegg had to observe on this morning’s Andy Marr Show (tm) that one should not believe everything one read in the Daily Mail. Also on that show – on paper review duty – and also having to caution against belief in Dacreland – was MP Tim Farron.

This was because he, too, has been the recipient of a Mail hatchet job, this time suggesting that he is gay (difficult for someone who is married with just the four children). The Mail is after Farron to make sure they take out not just the leader, but anyone who might succeed him. Which brings us to energy secretary Chris Huhne, also on the wrong end of a Mail kicking.

Huhne’s cardinal sin was to suggest that families concerned about rising energy bills should shop around in the same way they would for other consumer goods. The Dacre hackery has concluded that he has blamed (well, “appeared to blame”, anyway) those hard working Mail readers for all those green costs which, readers are told, have added £200 to annual bills. Except the figure is £34.

And, just to make sure, Vince Cable gets it in the neck as well, in another piece of knocking copy by James Forsyth: he’s not helping business. We know this because “Tory cabinet ministers fume” about it. But we don’t find out who they are, because Forsyth made that bit up. Oh, and Danny Alexander also got his collar felt by Dacre’s finest.

What is Dacre’s problem with the Lib Dems? One clue comes in Andrew Sparrow’s conference blog for the Guardian, where he notes: “delegates have voted for a review that could lead to the partial decriminalisation of drugs”. Any softness on drugs and Dacre will set the attack dogs on you. Be afraid of drugs, Mail readers. Be very afraid. And avoid those softies who aren’t.

Guido Fawked – Without Parent Or Guardian

[Updates at end of post]

The attempt by the Metropolitan Police to use the sledgehammer of the Official Secrets Act to crack the nut of information being given to journalists at the Guardian has brought forth adverse comment from across the Fourth Estate. But one lone voice has declared his full support for the Met: step forward the perpetually thirsty Paul Staines, who styles himself Guido Fawkes.

Staines has compiled a long and rambling post on why the Guardian is trying to have it both ways on this sideshow to Phonehackgate. He opens by trying to equate the affair to the actions of several titles in reporting the Joanna Yeates murder case, and in particular the smearing of Christopher Jeffries. But the Guardian is not trying to smear anyone.

Moreover, Staines’ attempt to rank hackery that brought two papers into contempt of court alongside reporting that has not brought even the suggestion of criminality is plainly ridiculous. But, unconcerned by such trivia, he then tries to smear the Guardian with the idea that its “client journalism” is somehow corrupt, but once again offers nothing more than nudge-nudgery in support.

And along the way, Staines throws in the occasional whopper, telling that “The Guardian has been gleefully naming suspects in the News International investigation, sometimes telling us who is going to be arrested before they actually have been [my emphasis]”. Perhaps he would like to point out when any of this occurred, especially the arrest part.

There is even an unfounded accusation against the paper: “the Guardian has an unlawful relationship with a Metropolitan Police officer” tells Staines. That might just be actionable, so a screenshot has been taken. But we can cut to the real story, and that is that the Guardian has won all the plaudits for its coverage of Phonehackgate, while Staines’ lame efforts have got him nowhere. This is a mere mardy strop.

And the folks who know all about this kind of thing – at Private Eye – have taken a very different view to the increasingly portly Staines. In Issue 1297, the affair is lead item in the Street of Shame column: as can be seen, the Eye puts the position directly, citing the legal background, and an appropriate precedent. Perhaps The Great Guido should have read the Eye piece first.

One final nail in the coffin of this rant by Staines is that, thus far, none of his pals in the supposedly hated MSM have come to his aid: the Telegraph and Mail are maintaining editorial silence, the only exception being Telegraph blogger Cristina Odone. And she’s backing the Guardian.

[UPDATE 1 Monday 1800 hours: the Guardian has now revealed that News International is pitching a settlement of around £2 million - yes, two million notes - to the Dowler family, including a substantial charity donation. Small wonder the Screws shut down. And to show just how clueless they are, Staines and his tame gofer Henry Cole, the Laurel and Hardy of the blogosphere, have not yet picked up on the news. Another fine mess]

[UPDATE 2 Wednesday 1130 hours: the Met has now dropped its pursuit of the Guardian, following the actions of most other papers in finding adversely on it. A senior officer has told that the attempt to use the Official Secrets Act was "not appropriate". The Fawkes blog has thus far remained silent: perhaps Paul Staines (in sole charge while Cole is en tour) believes that if he keeps schtum, nobody will notice. Another fine mess indeed]

Paul Dacre Must ... Get One In The Eye

Those who dissent from the bullying and dictatorial leadership style of the Daily Mail’s legendarily foul mouthed editor have something to cheer them in the latest issue of Private Eye (# 1297), which carries two snippets on The Great Man in its Street of Shame column.

Firstly, the Eye notes the serialisation of Joan Collins’ new book in the Mail, and that she bemoans the “almost commonplace” use of four-letter words, saying that “the C-word was verboten for years. I still consider it a nasty expletive that is demeaning to women”.

Who says I'm in the f***ing Eye again?

Street of Shame goes on: “Could this implied rebuke to Mail editor Paul Dacre explain why, after years of c***ing and double-c***ing, he now calls his staff ‘f***ing tossers’ instead?”.

But pride of place goes to the second piece of goss: “Dacre is rather taken with the singer Beyonce Knowles, whom he likes to bring up in editorial meetings at any opportunity ... Unfortunately, so scared are his staff of displeasing him that no-one has dared correct his pronunciation of her name. So staff have to remember to refer to her at all times in the editor’s hearing as ‘Bouncy’”.

Ridicule is something that the deeply unpleasant Dacre so richly deserves, and hopefully the Eye will continue to serve it up.

The Shale Shill Storm Starts

Those shilling for the extraction of gas from shale – a practice that is widespread in the USA – may not be aware that a firm called Cuadrilla Resources has already started shale gas extraction on the Fylde coast, near Blackpool. As I observed recently, events have not gone well for the company, with two recent earth tremors linked to their activity.

But the process of hydraulic fracturing of the gas-bearing shale, otherwise known as fracking, which was stopped after the second earth tremor, appears to have restarted, although Cuadrilla’s problems have not gone away: the wider public have begun to get wise to the arrival of shale gas drilling and a group called Campaign Against Climate Change has set up camp nearby.

This group has pointed out that shale gas is another fossil fuel, and that not only does burning it add to carbon dioxide emissions, but there is also gas released during extraction which is not captured, which makes the process yet dirtier. Although this does not detain fracking enthusiasts such as James “saviour of Western civilisation” Delingpole, more and more ordinary folks are concerned.

And there are sufficient concerns to have sparked two protest groups, the second being Ribble Estuary Against Fracking. Both groups intend to stage a protest near Cuadrilla’s land tomorrow. No doubt the Delingpoles of this world will be asserting that they are crazed greenie eco-loons mistakenly subverting themselves to the objectives of the New World Order (tm).

But what Del Boy and his followers might not be able to explain away easily is that Cuadrilla is not yet certain that fracking at its Fylde coast site is commercially viable, despite gas prices being so high. If shale gas is not merely plentiful, but cheap, this situation should not arise. Perhaps Delingpole has been misinformed – one hates to think that he might be the one doing the misinforming.

Perish the thought!

Mail Student Endorsement

An attack on the BBC by the obedient hackery of the legendarily foul mouthed Paul Dacre is not in itself exceptional. But the level of desperation to which the Daily Mail has descended is truly exceptional, although readers may not have been intended to follow the links provided by Simon Richards in yesterday’s piece, titled predictably “The BBC – Biased, Bloated, Complacent”.

This is classic Mail attack stuff, kicking off with a quote attributed to MP John Whittingdale: “what drives the BBC first and foremost is not a mission to educate, inform and entertain, but a ruthless determination to hang on to the TV licence fee at all costs”. Unsurprisingly, finding a cite for this quote is not easy, because Richards just made it up. Yes, Whittingdale didn’t say that.

But this is a mere taster for the main event: Richards is commending a report by The Freedom Association, or TFA (that’s freedom for those well enough off to enjoy it) criticising the Beeb. The report, titled Free The Airwaves, was written by Tom Waters. Who he? Here we find the first priceless nugget of information: Waters is an undergraduate – yes, the report was written by a student.

And there’s more: Waters wrote his report while working as an intern for TFA during the summer. So we’re being presented with a student’s summer project, which is commended to us as an authoritative and serious work. So what of the subject matter? Sadly, the report is peppered with pejorative language: at the outset, it calls the Licence Fee “cruel and unusual”. Like some kind of punishment.

Otherwise, claims of bias – “left-wing ... pro-Europe, anti-Israel ... pro-global warming” are trotted out, reinforced by such reliably impartial figures as, er, Daniel Hannan, who just happens to sit on the TFA committee. Equally reliable citations come from the Mail and Telegraph. The BBC is held to be too close to Government, an assertion not run past Alastair Campbell.

There is a suggestion – but no assertion, of course – that the Beeb is somehow anti-democratic. Polls asking questions about all broadcasters are then cited as reflecting only on the BBC. The Corporation is accused of waste, but little research of any kind is cited: the report relies entirely on selective and anecdotal evidence, and of course trowels on the “cost of talent”.

All in all, this gives every indication of being knocking copy written to order. Moreover, the quoting of MP John Whittingdale is no coincidence, given that he also sits on the TFA committee. And TFA’s director? Step forward Simon Richards! Yes, the Dacre press is giving free advertising space to another Astroturf lobby group.

No change there, then.

TPA High Speed Propaganda Fail – 2

So much for the latest analysis on HS2 from the so-called Taxpayers’ Alliance (TPA): what of the rest of those assertions made in their latest “Briefing Note”? At the outset, the tone is confused: author Chris Stokes tells of of a “cost to taxpayers” of just over £17 billion, yet the TPA line has consistently been that HS2 would cost “£1,000 per household”, as its cost was around £30 billion.

And, as I’ve previously shown, the £28.4 billion of supposed additional costs is mere invention. But there are other items to address in the TPA’s latest effort, the first being the business case for HS2, which the TPA have quoted verbatim and so are presumably agreeing. This shows a Benefit/Cost Ratio (BCR) of 2.6 (the range is 2.0 to 3.4) meaning an outlay of £30 billion will generate £78 billion in benefits.

Even so, there follows the tired canard of comparing the HS2 business case with that for Eurostar, which is a non sequitur: this is rather like saying that every rail project must be judged not on its own merits, but against some other criteria which will vary at the whim of those wanting to make adverse judgment.

But it is in the comparison with high speed rail across mainland Europe that the TPA becomes seriously misleading. We are told that the Netherlands’ high speed line is in economic trouble, but it is not: one service operating along it is not garnering the revenue expected, due to late delivery of new trainsets. The other – the Thalys running between Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris – is doing fine. So is the line itself.

Then, the TPA recycles a piece of Telegraph knocking copy on the AVE in Spain. The suggestion is that a whole infrastructure project has been abandoned, but it has not: when the high speed line from Madrid to Valencia was opened last December, one through service a day was added from Toledo to Albacete and Cuenca. Loadings were poor, and the one service a day was discontinued.

But to read the Telegraph article as quoted by the TPA, one would gain the impression that the abandonment was much more significant. One might also come away thinking that the HS1 services into Kent were under-performing, but operator SouthEastern has been happy with ridership growth thus far.

So what one has to conclude is that Chris Stokes is clutching at straws and bringing us a thinner and thinner brew over time. None of this “research note” will detain anyone that matters: as one Tweet in reply to my first analysis of the TPA’s latest work put it, “Chris Stokes is an intelligent man, seeing him drop to this level is sad”.

My conclusion from earlier today therefore stands: one for the bin.

TPA – Malicious And Defamatory Smear

[Update at end of post]

The activities of the so-called Taxpayers’ Alliance (TPA) are often reported on Zelo Street, but despite the frequently dubious nature of their propaganda, this group is normally of civilised demeanour. That changed this afternoon following a most unpleasant arson attack last night in Stalybridge.

The BBC has reported the incident, at the town’s Labour club, in which a couple forced their way in to the building late last night, demanded money from the steward, and set fire to parts of the bar and lounge after their demands failed to bear fruit. The steward escaped via the cellar, suffering some minor burns.

The Police appear to regard this as an arson attack, and confirmed that the steward had been left “badly shaken”. So it might be thought that even those not aligned with the Labour Party would take a measured approach when reacting to the incident, but that thought would be misplaced.

Because the local representative of the TPA, Liam Billington, has not allowed any residual doubt to trouble him, nor any regard for the victim to get in the way of his accusation.

This afternoon, Billington Tweeted “Stalybridge Labour Club ‘arson’: We’re all clear that this is an insurance swindle right?”, ending the Tweet with the hash tag #ashtonmarket (the historic market hall in Ashton-under-Lyne was ravaged by fire in 2004, but has since been restored).

If Billington has any factual information to back up his assertion, then no doubt he will be sharing it with the Police at the first opportunity. And, if not – as seems most likely – I’m sure he will have the decency to apologise for his defamatory smear.

[UPDATE 1640 hours: minutes after the TPA's Matthew Sinclair was made aware of his representative's lapse of discipline, the Tweet making the malicious and defamatory assertion was removed. A further screenshot was taken. But there has as yet been no apology: we're waiting]

If It’s Kinnock Related, Smear It

There has been a general election in Denmark. This would not, by itself, normally be sufficient to awake the Fourth Estate more than momentarily, except that the leader of the Social Democrats, the largest party in the potential ruling coalition, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, is married to a bloke called Stephen Kinnock. Pitching that name is enough to arouse interest.

So while the Guardian has reported the event, and confirmed that Ms Thorning-Schmidt is indeed the daughter-in-law of Neil and Glenys, the legendarily foul mouthed Paul Dacre and his obedient hackery have gone for the old-fashioned smear. There are, it seems, allegations being made against the couple, and the Daily Mail wouldn’t want to be beaten to the punch.

And therefore while the Guardian merely relays the election news, the Mail recycles accusations made about Stephen Kinnock’s sexuality – the couple have two daughters – and suggests there are problems with the marriage, as Kinnock works in Switzerland, something that gives Dacre’s finest more smear opportunities, as he works at the World Economic Forum.

So the Mail can also recycle accusations of tax evasion, inferring that Kinnock is getting away with paying less tax because he is taxed on his earnings in Switzerland. But he works in Switzerland: that’s like complaining that someone working in the UK pays their taxes in the UK. Only in the land of the Daily Mail does anyone have to pay income tax in a different country merely because of their surname.

And the first line of the Mail report is preposterous: “Neil Kinnock is finally getting a taste of leading a country” it starts. Like Young Dave’s mum enjoys executive power over 10 Downing Street, you mean? The dog-whistle smearing may have the desired effect, but heck, there’s no way it makes sense.

TPA High Speed Propaganda Fail – 1

The so-called Taxpayers’ Alliance (TPA) has engaged the services of consultant Chris Stokes – not a “senior rail manager” as has been previously claimed – to generate another “Research Note” on the HS2 project. This in reality is another pile of freshly steaming knocking copy filled with red herrings, unfounded assumptions, and occasional pure invention.

In this post the supposed “additional costs” claimed by the TPA for HS2 are considered: a further post will deal with the blatantly misleading remainder of the TPA’s latest attempt to derail HS2, which makes spurious comparisons with Eurostar, dishonestly presents the situation on high speed services from London into Kent, and misleads on matters in Spain and the Netherlands.

But the additional costs Stokes identifies can be dealt with directly, and his first “extra” is £10 billion for “Crossrail 2”. He asserts that this will be required to relieve congestion on the Tube network at Euston, solely because of HS2. This is complete drivel: the additional demand on both Tube and Sub-Surface Lines (SSLs) is 2%, which additional capacity on the Victoria Line alone will absorb.

Moreover, gaining access to the eastern end of Euston Square station on the SSLs will further enhance the capacity of the Underground network to easily accommodate any future growth due to HS2. This additional cost – which in true TPA style is a suspiciously round number – is an invention.

Stokes also identifies another £10 billion “extra”, this being supposed competition costs. He tells of “unfettered competition” between HS2 and other rail services. He wrongly assumes that the Government will allow capacity freed up by HS2 to be used by as yet unspecified competing services, which they will not. This cost – another all too round number – is yet another invention.

Another assumption made by Stokes is that £5.4 billion which would be saved by reductions in other passenger services would not be made. His evidence for this is in the form of comments made by Transport Minister Theresa Villiers, but she did not commit to keeping the services covered. This is yet another invention.

Lastly, an additional £3 billion has been added to the TPA’s figures for “mitigating impact”: this suggests that more of the HS2 route will be put in tunnel to produce an outcome acceptable to residents in the Greater London area. But no detail is entered into, and it will not be: the best that Stokes can manage is to recycle comments made by Boris Johnson in the early stages of his bid for re-election as Mayor.

So the £3 billion is yet another invention. The rest of the TPA’s figures, which follow from Stokes’ assumptions, are therefore worthless. Another one for the bin.

Passport That Opens Only One Door

Back in the news again, and as usual for the wrong reasons, is Ryanair, the Millwall of air carriers (everybody hates us and we don’t care), over the issue of added fees for card transactions. And, just to put the icing on the cake, Ryanair’s spokesman Stephen McNamara has indulged in a little blatant dishonesty, while presiding over a superbly bad grammar failure.

Ryanair at present charges six notes per passenger per sector for the privilege of paying for a booking using a debit card – the kind of plastic that you can use at Asda or Aldi without any extra charge. The only way to avoid what the carrier jocularly calls an “optional charge” has been to use a pre-paid Mastercard. Having gone through the hassle of buying and loading one, there was no booking fee.

However – and with Ryanair, there’s always a however – this seems not to have satisfied Michael O’Leary’s finest, and so the hoop that punters have to jump through has been made a little less accessible, with the launch of the Ryanair Cash Passport, a pre-paid Mastercard which in future will be the only way of avoiding those 48 quid per family of four return trip incidentals.

Not surprisingly, the travel trade is not happy about this, although Ryanair probably couldn’t give a stuff what they think. The move is held to merely underline that this is imposing booking fees by making it increasingly inconvenient to obtain another piece of plastic and to keep charging it. But while punters continue to tolerate Ryanair’s behaviour, that behaviour will continue.

Which brings us to McNamara and his suitably blatant whopper: in a press release dated today, he proclaims “At Ryanair we don’t want your [add-on] fees”. Of course not, Stephen, and some may believe you. This assertion is clearly dishonest: raking in six quid per sector per passenger when a transaction costs a few pence to process is substantial extra money. No sane businessman would wish that away.

McNamara has trouble smelling his worms

Although, having said that, it might also be thought that no sane businessman would publish a press release containing such shockingly bad grammar and spelling as the one in which McNamara makes his assertion. One look at the banner headline should tell you all you need to know about how cheap and nasty Ryanair’s publicity really is.

Very.

Independent – Not New News (Again)

Today, the Independent has yet again splashed on the world of private investigator Steve Whittamore. And yet again, much of what it reveals is not new news. The amounts paid by the various hacks in and around the Fourth Estate may be an interesting addition to what we already know, but much of the rest has already seen the light of day, mainly in Nick Davies’ Flat Earth News.

And the revelation that J K Rowling’s name appeared in Whittamore’s records has already been eclipsed by her being revealed by the Guardian as one of the 46 “core participants” to the upcoming Leveson enquiry. The news that Ken Livingstone was targeted was in Flat Earth News. Likewise the BBC executive and the former Big Brother housemate.

And so was Wayne Rooney: in fact, Davies is more specific than the Indy in saying it was his mother who was the subject of Whittamore’s attention. The location of the stag and hen parties of Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones was previously mentioned in Davies’ Guardian article on Operation Motorman back in 2009, as was the targeting of Ms Dynamite.

Also previously revealed by Davies is the network around Whittamore, which included a former Hell’s Angel who lived on the south coast: again, Davies is more specific than the Indy and pinpoints him to the Sussex coast. The Guardian piece also covers the obtaining of information from the Police national computer: Davies identifies the source as a civilian worker at Wandsworth Police station.

The only significant new find from the Indy is the targeting of Kate Middleton and sister Pippa, and Davies may not have considered this worthwhile including, given the length of the on-off courtship with Prince William and the lower media profile the sisters enjoyed two years ago. But set against this bonus is the detail Davies extracted from the pursuit of Private Eye editor Ian Hislop.

Hislop had been targeted by sleb snapper Jason Fraser, who had obtained the Eye man’s phone records, firstly for his house in London, and then when he moved out of town, at his new address. Fraser used the services of Whittamore’s network to facilitate his frankly vindictive pursuit.

But the Indy does at least offer up a nugget of original information: that Whittamore was grilling sausages when the Information Commissioner’s men knocked at the door. And there isn’t much more: it’s a desperately thin brew, especially considering the build-up and the headlines.

It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Mel

Melanie Phillips is worried. Worse, she’s worried about war. She’s worried that there is about to be a declaration of war. Real, shooting war. And that the declaration of this real, shooting war will be made at the UN General Assembly (GA). Mel has become convinced that the GA is about to declare war on Israel. But, just to be on the safe side, she’s let Daily Mail readers in on the secret.

For Mel, the prospect of an independent Palestinian state being recognised is an “incendiary gesture”, and “the pretext to ignite the Arab world into a fresh campaign of violence against Israel”. And who is going to give the green light to this recognition? Apparently Young Dave is, and he’s compounded his misdeed by giving an interview to Al-Jazeera English.

The premise that giving an interview to Frostie is some kind of wicked act of betrayal is not an easy one to stand up. It’s not as if AJE are in the business of slanted and agenda driven journalism in the same way as Fox News Channel (fair and balanced my arse). Moreover, the idea that Israel’s neighbours are limbering up for a scrap is ludicrous. After all, they all know their history – here’s a quick recap.

1948 War Of Independence: this kicked off more or less at the moment the state of Israel came into being. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) prevailed and a substantial amount of territory across the Negev was captured, giving access to the Red Sea at Eilat. Progress was so rapid that, on arriving at the sea, the IDF had no flag to raise: the soldiers improvised with a white sheet and some blue ink.

1956 Suez Crisis: the IDF made such rapid progress that it had to wait for the British and French to catch up. It was only when the USA leaned on the UK that Israeli forces were withdrawn.

1967 Six Day War: the Israelis started this one: whether it was an act of aggression or a pre-emptive defensive strike is still in dispute. The IDF captured the Golan Heights, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the whole of the Sinai peninsula.

1973 Yom Kippur War: the IDF, with a bloke called Ariel Sharon leading the way, actually crossed the Suez Canal. Israeli forces also punched deep into Syria. Only after this event did Egypt make peace with Israel, and regain control over the Sinai.

In fact, as Robert Graves once put it, “the Egyptian Army had its last military success at Kadesh against the Hittites in 1299 BC”. With the Syrian army otherwise engaged right now, and the Jordanians not likely to disturb the peace, one has to wonder what Melanie Phillips is so worried about. With Mel, it is indeed a mad, mad, mad, mad world.

Independent – Not New News

Today, the Independent has rather grandly splashed on a “Special Investigation”, delving into Operation Motorman, which resulted in officers of the Information Commissioner descending on number 3 Orchard Grove, New Milton on March 8, 2003. This was the home of one Steve Whittamore, private investigator of choice for much of the Fourth Estate.

But the Indy’s assertion that this has been “Exposed after eight years” is a sham. True, they have interviewed a former Police inspector who was the original lead investigator on Motorman, and gleaned from him that there was a fear of taking on the press, that they could not interview the journalists named in the mass of documents seized from Orchard Grove.

But the case of Steve Whittamore has been public knowledge for the past three years, ever since the first publication of Nick Davies’ Flat Earth News. It was Davies who told of how Whittamore, realising that his was the house being turned over, claimed to be “positively gutted”. It was Davies who first reported the figures: 305 different journalists requesting 13,343 different items of information.

And it was Davies who told of three years’ worth of mainly illegal information gathering by Whittamore, that had raked in well over half a million pounds (the ten most active journalists alone had contributed almost £165,000 of that). Also reported in Flat Earth News – and in rather more detail than the Indy has managed – was the court case where Whittamore escaped with a conditional discharge.

At least the Indy has brought a few new details – the targeting of Sarah Payne, and survivors of the Ladbroke Grove train crash and the Dunblane shooting – and yet more information about Milly Dowler and Holly Wells. And other publications are named, such as the Sunday Express, Sunday People and the Associated titles, mainly meaning the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday.

And that, along with revealing the colour of the books in which Whittamore entered details of work – blue for News International, red for Trinity Mirror – is that. Nowhere is there any acknowledgement of Nick Davies’ work, and that it has been available for all to read since 2008. And nowhere is there any reference telling that some of Davies’ material has also been previously published by the Guardian.

Typical of the Guardian stories was “Operation Motorman: the full story revealed” over two years ago. And the detail Davies provides is far superior to the Indy “exclusive”. The Independent ought to come clean and admit that their story is not new news, it’s not an exclusive, and it’s been done better elsewhere.

TPA – The Union Of Spin

As the trades union movement gathers for the annual TUC Conference, the dubiously talented array of non-job holders at the so-called Taxpayers’ Alliance (TPA) has renewed its attack on them, with a characteristically pretentiously titled “Research Note” on what it calls the “Trade Union Rich List” [.pdf]. This propaganda has been obediently churned by the usual suspects in the press.

And the creative accounting is visible at the outset: the use of “remuneration package” to suggest that these are the amounts the various top people at a number of unions actually earn is typical. What Matthew “Gromit” Elliott and his pals don’t tell is that the number who actually earn over £100,000 a year is not 38, but in fact just nine – that’s one person with that salary over a twelve month period.

The figures are inflated by adding pension contributions and any other benefits that are received: what those are, the TPA is not telling. But if they are not part of the actual salary, then that isn’t what the person in question earns. If someone has to travel and incur costs for hotels, transport and meals, those expenses may be benefits but are not part of a salary package.

That is why the TPA approach is misleading, and deliberately so: it adds a sixth figure to the pay of many union chiefs, and this is an invaluable tool in the propaganda war it is waging. The success of that war can be seen in the direct churning of the TPA press release by the Express, and that Elliott is given his own “blog” by the Daily Mail.

Also under attack is trade union facility time, a phrase the TPA will not be using – as they want the public to believe that this is “taxpayer funded trade unionism” – where the TPA has taken the figure for paid staff time and declared it to be a subsidy, although Elliott only goes as far as to say “That could indirectly support executive pay”, demonstrating that he is of less than perfect courage.

At the outset, pitching the figure of £67.5 million and calling it a public subsidy looks to provide an open and shut case, but the TPA does not provide any analysis of what this saves organisations – the practice covers both public and private sectors – and they will not be doing so. The TPA does not want anyone to look beyond the headline figure: it would rather the general public remain ignorant.

The benefits of workplace representation have long been recognised: one recent publication, including a range of case studies [.pdf], has been signed off by both TUC and CBI. Any analysis of facility time must consider not only the costs, but also the benefits, of union representation. The slanted and selective propaganda from the TPA cannot fulfil that role, and is not fit for purpose.

Righteous Minds

The obedient hackery of the legendarily foul mouthed Paul Dacre have had a great idea: to collect the various comment columns, along with other posts and a sheaf of links, into a group blog format. Thus they line Right Minds up against Comment Is Free at the Guardian, Maily Telegraph blogland, and even the Huffington Post UK.

In fact, the new venture is already being nicknamed the Heffington Post because it is edited by Simon Heffer, late of the Maily Telegraph. So what has the Hefferlump to offer the occasional and curious visitor? The answer is not encouraging: Steven Baxter has already given it the thumbs down, and I agree, but for different reasons.

Firstly, Right Minds has not been well signposted from the Mail Online homepage – one might have thought that, as the new kid on the block, there would be a plug to get the readers in. And having looked in, the top offerings are a turn-off. There is “Chapman & Co”, top post by Tim Shipman. Is someone taking the piss? Shipman is one of the worst at churning out knocking copy to order.

Then we are offered “Ephraim Hardcastle – Britain’s most acerbic diarist”. Yeah, right. This column is written by Peter McKay, aka Peter McLie, the World’s Worst Columnist. McHackey passed his sell-by date decades ago. But at least there is Peter Hitchens, who is always readable even if one doesn’t agree with him.

Then, leering at us rather more prominently than all of these, is Fat Dick Littlejohn, whose latest pisspoor offering I considered earlier. Memo to Heffer and Dacre: Dick is also past his sell-by date. It’s pointless trying to push something as being fresh and new when it’s full of the same old drivel.

Ah, though, look – a man of the cloth! Er, forget it: the Reverend Doctor Peter Mullen is a raving fruitcake of the worst kind, homophobic, Islamophobic, Europhobic, and further to the right than Genghis Khan. Who else is there? Amanda bloody Platell, Max “Hitler” Hastings, the famous Harry Phibbs (he does?), and Telegraph refugee Nile “Chauncey” Gardiner, bleating because Barack Obama is alive.

Thus far, it’s a case of the usual suspects peddling the usual Mail fayre. And the subjects are hardly original: “Why so many of our companies aren’t British anymore” carps one headline. And, as Steven Baxter has pointed out, when you finally work your way down to the blogroll, there is just a list of The Usual Suspects that many blog readers will already have seen.

As Baxter says, Right Minds isn’t going to fail, not with the Mail’s resources behind it, but right now one has to ask what the point of it all is. It’s just the Daily Mail’s usual punditry, reheated. And, when group blogs elsewhere are offering something fresh and different, that’s not good enough.

Being For The Benefit Of Mr Lobby

The Guardian’s George Monbiot has been looking at organisations that are generally classed as think tanks, most of these being of a conservative or free market persuasion. The results of his enquiries on funding have not been encouraging, but this is no surprise, given that one of those bodies is the so-called Taxpayers’ Alliance (TPA), which as Zelo Street regulars will know, is an Astroturf lobby group.

Several other organisations, including the IEA, Policy Exchange, the Adam Smith Institute, the Global Warming Policy Foundation, the Christian Medical Fellowship, Nurses for Reform, and Right to Know – which backed Nadine Dorries’ amendment to the health bill – also declined to tell Monbiot who funded them. And as he says, those who pay for influence should be accountable for it.

The Great Guido backs the Guardian - for now

But, in a strange twist, Monbiot appears to have unusual allies in his move against the power of the lobbyists: explicitly agreeing is the perpetually thirsty Paul Staines, who styles himself Guido Fawkes, though his close pal Mark Wallace, former stalwart of the TPA, might not agree. Wal was seen drinking with Staines and his tame gofer Henry Cole at the Huffington Post UK launch party.

Also finding adversely upon “corporate crony capitalism” is the UK’s self-proclaimed biggest fan of former half-term Governor Sarah Palin: step forward James “saviour of Western civilisation” Delingpole, who has copied out Palin’s recent attack on “influence peddling and corporate welfare”. Del Boy is clearly, on this occasion, on the same side as the man from the Guardian.

Del Boy speechless at his agreement with George

But then the thought enters that Del Boy might not have thought this one through properly. After all, every time the Global Warming Policy Foundation issues another of its dubiously argued reports, he’s there cheering them on. So when Del Boy asserts that “Sarah Palin totally gets it”, he’s managing not to see that the corporate crony machine is feeding his side too.

That’s the problem with principles: the higher they are, the more noise they make when they come crashing down around your ears. Delingpole’s idealism doesn’t survive a cursory scan of his post, and Staines’ brave stand won’t last beyond the second pint when he next drinks with the TPA and their supporters. Which he will very soon.

Dick And The Rose Tinted Crims

Today, the Daily Mail’s tedious and unfunny churnalist Richard Littlejohn is reminiscing, something not unknown to his unfortunate readers. The subject, though, is a little off-beat for the Dacre hackery, because Dick has shown a fondness towards the criminals of the past. Because, he tells, crims today aren’t a patch on those of half a century ago.

So we get the obligatory reference not just to the Kray twins, but also an acknowledgement that Littlejohn once saw the Monty Python send up of them – The Piranha Brothers – so he talks of “nailing people’s heads to coffee tables”. Maybe Dick is unaware of the ability of today’s organised criminality to be just as violent as Ronnie and Reggie in defending their territory.

But it’s when he gets to the Great Train Robbery that Dick sells the pass: “The Great Train Robbery was like a military operation, carried out with immense precision and chutzpah,” he eulogises, continuing “The robbers may have been violent criminals but they captured the imagination”. I don’t know what planet Littlejohn is on, but here on Earth the robbers were seen as, well, robbers.

And the sheer amateurishness of the heist is the stuff of legend: the rigging up of a rogue red signal meant that Driver Mills of Crewe didn’t see a yellow caution aspect first. So the gang were immensely fortunate that Mills managed to stop his 133 tonne locomotive and its 420 tonnes of mail train. The idea that the robbers mugged up on signal sighting and stopping distances is laughable.

After the mail train stopped came the next amateur moment: the replacement driver, recruited by Ronnie Biggs, had not signed a main line diesel locomotive of any kind, and couldn’t figure out how to get the train moved to where the van was waiting. The coshing of Mills in an attempt to get him to move the train was equally amateurish: Mills never fully recovered.

Even after the van had been loaded, the gang made the mistake of lying low at nearby Leatherslade Farm, instead of getting some distance between themselves and the crime scene. But the robbery did ensure that security was stepped up on mail trains, and when the gang were made an example of at their trial, that was what really captured the imagination.

Littlejohn really ought to do some research once in a while, although I’m sure lounging by that Florida pool is preferable. But his column does have one nugget of information: “Once, the remote barns and lock-ups of Kent and Essex groaned with high-end swag” he tells.

They did? Perhaps Dick could help the Met cold case folks with their enquiries.