Ruth Turner Arrest - BBC Response

Yesterday, a day when news of national and international significance broke, the BBC's Newsnight programme devoted more time to an obscure story on a Conservative councillor. On the main news they devoted more time to wind than Ruth Turner and on the BBC website Nick Robinson gave this turgid response titled "range of possibilities" to the breaking news.

They spent more energy on the recent Blears and Kelly storms in teacups than this massive new development where a senior Blair aide has been arrested in connection with an allegation of perverting the course of justice - a crime which has a maximum punishment of a life sentence. I call it soft-pedalling and doing it breaches the trust with the license fee payer.

The government has lurched from one crisis to another brassing it out with the support of a pliant BBC. If you are upset with the quality of their coverage and reporting, complaining to the BBC is easy.

To complain

Update

Saturday morning and in respect of the arrest the BBC's website leads with Labour anger. They are feeding us pure and unadulterated obfuscation.

There's Talk Of Witch-Hunts

The leaders of the major parties (by that I mean Blair and Cameron) are supporting Ruth Kelly as am I for her personal decision to pay for her son to be educated privately. More here.

However, Labour MP Barry Sheerman, chairman of the Commons education select committee, said: "Before we start a witch-hunt about a particular Cabinet minister, let us find out what the circumstances are and let's then duly consider that" .

So they've banned fox-hunting, but witch-hunting - that's OK. And who's we? And what does "finding out the circumstances" involve? Do "they" want to see Master Kelly's school reports/medical records before deciding that the decision is OK? Is it just me or do you get the feeling that being an open Christian in the Labour Party is frowned upon? Don't let the b*****s grind you down, Ruth.

Update

Personally, I thought the quote I found was the most newsworthy, but the BBC has kindly removed the element of Shearman's quote emboldened above. The rest of the article looks the same. Anyone would think NuLabour have got the Beeb in their pocket.

Convicted Murderers On The Loose - Who Cares?

A teacher calling a pupil a cripple is front page news on the BBC website today. The following isn't!

Two convicted murderers escaped from an open (wtf) prison and have not had their photos published.

This is worth reading, but I want to pull out the incredible statement from a spokesman for Derbyshire Police - and I quote;

"When making a decision to release any photograph, police forces must take into account numerous factors including the public interest test,

Yes 11 of the 13 escaped convicts remain on the run, duh.

whether there is a strong local policing purpose

and this is a reason not to release the pictures!!!

and, of course, the Human Rights Act

which the Tories are committed to binning

and Data Protection Acts"

Still feel like you're on firm ground Recess Monkey?

Bel covers this too. I understand that after a great deal of ducking and diving on the BBC's 1pm news, it was announced that the photos have now been published. If there's any small c conservatives out there, it's time for you to get off the fence to do more to rid ourselves of this shower government.

Tags : Biased BBC, Not Proud Of Britain, Justice

Back Again - Bashing The Beeb

Hello again. I think I have a blog backlog. I have finished Geoff Mulgan's book which (after a slow start) turned out to be full of blog post potential. I also quite fancy the idea of blogging about relative poverty having just spent some time in deepest Slovakia (because obviously my mere presence in the gf's village increased the levels of poverty there). I also have some 2006 review stuff to do and there's at least a few posts on Birmingham in me.

But I'm going to ease the posts out gently as I have other things to do.

Being away for a few days without access to any media was nice, but inevitably involves a bit of catch up. Not much seems to have happened apart from England losing another match in the cricket - but the BBC doesn't cease to amaze me. Leaving to one side that the Grauniad's reporting of the BBC settlement has particularly grated, I was reviewing their current web news stories and came across this.

I *love* this extract from their crap article.

Critics say President Robert Mugabe has ruined what was one of Africa's most developed economies. As well as chronic unemployment, Zimbabwe has the world's lowest life expectancy and highest inflation rate. Mr Mugabe says he is the victim of a Western plot to bring him down because of opposition to his seizure of white-owned land.

That's right. Mugabe's legacy is up for debate at the BBC - and it's neck-and-neck at the moment. Instead, I advise readers to visit Guthrum's site for some proper Zimbabwe coverage.

Also, I know it's a slow news day, but surely they can do better than a leading political story on MP opposes hospital closures in own constituency shocker. Now, I'll make political capital as much as the next man (no really), but this attack on Hazel Blears is extremely weak. As the salutary tale of one-term Labour MP David Lock demonstrates, not standing up for the local hospital is as close as you can get to political suicide, so what is the story?

And who decided that this should be the leading UK political story and why are they in that job? Just another case of the Beeb playing ball with our rulers under the thinnest veneer of even-handedness. Rant over. It's good to be back.