The Guardian has, again, landed itself in hot water for failing to practise what it preaches. The slip-up this time comes from a land down under, as Guardian Australia editor, Lenore Taylor, was forced to correct the record after making false statements about Sky News Australia. Lenore claimed Sky News had broadcast a “very right-wing evangelic Christian” program. The show was, in fact, broadcast by Foxtel Cable Television. The Guardian since retracted the claim and amended the information. The false statement was made on the Full Story podcast – focussing on “the consequences of lies”…

What’s more, it’s not the first correction issued by The Guardian about Sky News Australia – even in the past week alone. They previously amended an article after they omitted the fact that a watchdog investigation into Sky News Australia only came about after 80 complaints by former Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd. A spokesman for Sky News Australia said:

“Guardian Australia has been required to publish corrections on a number of occasions in relation to Sky News Australia. This latest factual error is particularly ironic given the purported expertise of the presenters on the podcast, discussing misinformation”.

The fake news Guardian’s commitment to misinformation knows no borders.

Here is Labour MP Peter Kyle referring to Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf as “Mohammed” on Sky News this morning. He also called Scotland “Northern Ireland” twice. Not that you’d know that from Sky’s own coverage. Presumably as an act of kindness, they have corrected the Humza/Mohammed mix-up in the tweet quote, and ignored the Scotland/Ireland gaffe entirely…

They’ve also locked down the replies to the tweet, so this is deliberate. That hasn’t stopped outrage in the quote tweets, which they can’t censor…

Hat-tip: Skwawkbox

Sky News’ political correspondent Joe Pike is leaving the channel to join BBC Newsnight, where he’ll be the programme’s new Insight & Investigations Editor. Pike is a known scoop-getter in SW1, having previously worked at LBC and ITV before joining Sky News in 2020. Now he’s heading to BBC Two this summer…

Announcing the move this afternoon, Newsnight editor Stewart Maclean said:

“Joe’s an indefatigable journalist who’ll help Newsnight analyse events and hold power to account in Whitehall, the UK’s devolved parliaments and beyond.”

Congratulations Joe…

Yesterday evening, Sky News revealed the latest in the long-line of dramatic lobby-driven allegations against “coercive” arch-villain Dominic Raab. They use whistleblower-esque video of anonymous actors filmed in poorly-lit rooms to convey the gravity of the situation – with the anonymous sources – read leftie civil servants – accusing Raab of showing “quiet fury”. Buried half-way through the video piece, Beth admits her anonymous sources “weren’t bullied by the Deputy Prime Minister themselves”…

Amongst the other allegations lodged against the Justice Secretary was the claim he would “adapt his behaviour depending on the person” and that officials would be “nervous about going into meetings with him” for fear of an “unpleasant encounter”. The testimony adds that Raab’s victims “wouldn’t complain”. You have to wonder why.

The claims go further. Although Beth’s sources admit “he wouldn’t shout”, in this case, his crime was far worse. His victims allege “The vein would be pumping on his head and he would look like he was about to explode.” Just shocking.

In the wake of all this, Raab has the unfortunate job of facing questions on this morning’s media round, even with the government’s announcement of tougher sentencing for domestic abuse, no prizes for guessing where their attention was focused. So far, he has stuck to a refusal to comment, though Sky News did get him to admit he “absolutely” has high standards in the workplace:

“I think if you’re in any walk of life, the media, in sport, CEO of a big business, let alone in government, you want to set high standards because that’s how you deliver.”

We can’t have that…

As Gary Lineker’s BBC career hangs in the balance, even Labour are beginning to shift their line on the footballing star. Appearing on Sky News with Sophy Ridge last night, Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry pushed back on the millionaire pundit’s comments, claiming he “went too far” in comparing the government’s small boats policy to Nazi Germany, and she “wouldn’t have said that” herself:

“I know that Gary Lineker feels very strongly about this issue, and he has brought refugees into his home and he campaigns on this issue. I think some of the language that Gary Lineker has used in the last 24 hours has been really very unfortunate, and I wouldn’t have used some of the [comments]… I just think that there is a special place in hell for the Nazis… I don’t think you should be making those comparisons. So I wouldn’t have said that, I think that he went too far…”

Starmer’s spokesperson already gave Lineker a yellow card earlier in the day, saying “comparisons with Germany in the 1930s aren’t always the best way to make your argument. But Gary Lineker has been a passionate advocate on behalf of refugees…”. Directly saying he went “too far” and shouldn’t have made the comments at all is enough to send him off the pitch. Which would make things awkward for James O’Brien, who is now suggesting Tory criticism of Lineker’s comments is somehow out of the fascist playbook. What does he think of Thornberry, then?

Sky News have promoted Jonathan Levy to managing director and executive editor. This comes after John Ryley, who had held the position for 17 years, announced his resignation in December. David Rhodes, former vice president of Fox News, has also moved to become executive chairman of Sky News Group.

Levy will now have “primary responsibility for the journalism on all UK platforms” whilst Rhodes will have “overall responsibility for Sky’s news services across EMEA”, including the development of commercial strategy. Levy said:

“It’s the greatest privilege to lead Sky News’ journalism when there’s such an urgent need for impartial and independent reporting and analysis. There is an exceptional team of journalists here with a burning passion for hard-hitting visual storytelling.”

Presumably Jonathan enjoyed the “hard-hitting visuals” of Kay Burley’s Nicola Bulley coverage.