The Telegraph would usually be the first out of the traps on an expenses story, but they’ve decided it will be more fun to side with the ‘Kippers and knock the Times today. Brogan has been activated and is talking down the story. The polling, it seems, would agree with his angle, namely that scandal is wasted on Farage because – like Boris – the public have warmed to him. Nothing like a bit of mudslinging to liven up a dull day though.
Two MediaGuido Twitter bitch fight regulars are reaching for their saucers of milk this afternoon.
Andrew Pierce and Owen Jones have fallen out again, this time over Nigel Evans.
Andrew Pierce accuses Owen Jones of lying.
Who to believe?
. @OwenJones84 You told me Nigel Evans was in big trouble and was going down. Have you read the court transcript? Prosecution was a joke
— Andrew Pierce (@toryboypierce) April 15, 2014
. @OwenJones84 In the Green Room at ITV. You cant have forgotten?
— Andrew Pierce (@toryboypierce) April 15, 2014
. @OwenJones84 Hardly private but you emphatically did think he was guilty based on your chats with some of the so called 'victims'
— Andrew Pierce (@toryboypierce) April 15, 2014
. @OwenJones84 @gbrennan I forgot you need it in monosyllables. You said he was going down and you said it with relish
— Andrew Pierce (@toryboypierce) April 15, 2014
Is what one of them says in public is not quite the same as what he says in private. Is one of them lying? They can’t both be telling the truth. Who?
Via Media Briefing.
As the economy grows, Labour’s poll lead disappears…
UPDATE: Note the 4% of Tories who think unemployment and economic growth are going to get worse are more pessimistic than their LibDem colleagues.
Could today’s effort by The Times to get UKIP have anything to with the complaint made last month by the Lib Dem MEP Edward McMillan-Scott about UKIP’s use of allowances? His complaint was based on a series of reports by Times journalists Rachel Sylvester and Alice Thomson. Yesterday that complaint was thrown out by a European Parliament bureau meeting that found there was no matter requiring further investigation…
Times hack Billy Kenber has hit back at claims from UKIP that they borked the figures in their story this morning.
From: “Kenber, Billy”
Date: 15 April 2014 10:14:05 BST
To: David Samuel-Camps
Cc: Alexi Mostrous, Nigel Farage
Subject: Re: Your reportHi David,
The difference between the two figures lies in the way Ukip MEP’s break down their transparency reports.
This includes various categories – of which the one of relevance to rent is “office management and running costs” which covers rent, utilities, insurance, business rates and cleaning. In his transparency reports Farage claims to have spent £15,500 a year solely on this category since July 2009. This does not include office equipment, phone bills and stationery which fall under “communication costs” and “stationery, periodicals, subscriptions”.
As you say, the total monthly cost for all office expenditure was £700 (down from £2,000 when you managed to cancel various locked-in contracts for things like unnecessary amounts of printer ink) which I asked you to break down into its constituent parts – something we went through twice to ensure accuracy.
You said that utilities and insurance amounted to less than £100 a month and that council tax/business rates were £150 (I looked it up and it was £149 a month for the current financial year 2013). Hence the figure of £250 a month, which is £3,000 a year. The remaining £450 a month falls under the two other categories outlined above.
Bognor Regis is the nearest well-known town for readers who are less familiar with the West Sussex coast.
Best wishes,
Billy
Media Guido, your one stop shop for airing dirty laundry in public…
