Who is behind the John Whittingdale story? For the last two years Natalie Rowe, the prostitute who made the infamous coke and bondage allegations about George Osborne, has been tweeting excitably about Whitto’s relationship with a dominatrix. Her allegations, including the pictures she tweeted of Whitto and his former partner, eventually found their way onto the eccentric Byline website. Yet well before the revelations broke, Rowe had a long phone call with Tom Watson where they discussed “in detail” her story about Whittingdale:
tom_watson Why are you not using your Parliamentary Privilege in relation to John Whittingdale, we spoke in detail on the phone – USE IT
— Natalie Rowe (@RealNatalieRowe) July 11, 2014
Natalie was frustrated with Watson’s apparent failure to get the story going. Conveniently, it eventually ended up on Byline, whose writers Watson is very friendly with. Whitto and Watson of course have history after they sat on the Culture, Media and Sport committee together back during the hacking scandal. Ironic that Watson, a man who previously had a keen interest in keeping his personal life out of the press, was so interested in the private relationships of a political enemy…
UPDATE: Peston is briefed that Watson warned the Sunday People against running the story. So Watson did have behind the scenes discussions with both the source and the press…
Prezza looked like he was going to punch him…
Perhaps the most cringe-worthy moment, from a crowded field at Labour’s manifesto launch, was when Ed had to beg members not to jeer and boo journalists:
It didn’t work though, they were soon jeering Sky News.
Yet Ed confirms he would legislate to gag the press:
Presumably it means they will break up the BBC…
Gary Gibbon points out that Miller was pushed after her PPS’s multi-vehicle pile up on Sky News. MacLeod went to pieces when confronted with her text message, revealed exclusively by Guido, citing a Leveson witch-hunt:
“I was told by one government source that Maria Miller’s PPS’s appearance on Sky News and her text message to Tory backbenchers saying the attacks on Maria Miller were a media witch-hunt were “the final straw.” This “should never have been said,” another government source said.”
The wheels were off by the time discipline had collapsed and anger led to leaking.
Once again Maria Miller has tried to use the threat of the post-Leveson age to shut down her expenses scandal. Mary Macleod, PPS to the fatally wounded Culture Secretary, today texted Tory MPs begging for support. Again Miller’s people have cited threats to press freedom. Mary Macleod said:
“I believe there is a media witch-hunt on Maria due to Levesen [sic]. How do you feel about it? Happy to answer any questions you may have. She would really appreciate your support. Many thanks Mary”
Too little too late, Guido fears.
