The BBC has apologised to an ex-Tory SpAd after a radio programme aired in which filmmaker Armando Iannucci and comedian Stewart Lee accused him of ‘spreading misinformation.’ Maybe only the brightest and best comic thinkers should venture out of their stand-up remit…
In an episode of Iannucci’s programme for Radio 4, called Strong Message Here, Iannucci and Lee attacked ex-Nadhim Zahawi SpAd James Price over some comments he made to LBC about the George Abaraonye Oxford Union scandal. Price had said “I think the long-term viability of the place (the Oxford Union) may struggle” on LBC, which Lee accused of being a “technique”:
“The speculation is now a technique. You speculate, and then you get from the speculation into the fact. The guy from a new made-up thing, Concerned Alumni of the Oxford Union, James Price, he’s from the Tufton Street think tank Centre for Policy Studies. He was saying, ‘there may have been donations withdrawn from the Oxford Union, because the bloke criticised Charlie Kirk. There may not be. But, if there have been, blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.’
And then you’re into that. And we need a new name for this, and I would like to call it ‘fabulo-speculation’.”
Iannucci joined in and Lee went on: “you can speculate about something that you have no evidence for because the fabulo-speculation gets you to the insubstantiated (sic) point that you want to make.” He finished by complaining that “the lying has become normalised.” Oh look, Stewart Lee has let himself go…
In response to a complaint the BBC has today issued an apology to Price:
“I would judge that there was a strong implication that you were deliberately employing a “technique” in the knowledge that might lead to the spread of misinformation by others. At the time of your appearance on LBC there was some, albeit limited, evidence in the press that funding was being withheld from the Oxford Union by prospective donors in the wake of the row about Mr Abaraonye’s presidency. Given this, the fact that you were personally named in the BBC programme, and that you were not given the opportunity to respond to the allegation I would judge this was unfair to you under the guidelines.”
The BBC told Price he could elevate the complaint to media regulator Ofcom. He tells Guido: “I’m very pleased to get to this result, after the BBC’s multiple initial responses insisted no wrongdoing on their part. I had already been compelled to escalate this to Ofcom because the BBC breezed past their own deadlines for a reply, but it will be nice to update the case with the Beeb’s own admission of wrongdoing. I would be very happy to discuss the issue with Mr Iannucci and Mr Lee on their programme, to show there are no hard feelings on my part. How about it, chaps?” Water under the bridge…
Read the full apology letter below:
Continue reading “BBC Apologises to Ex-SpAd After ‘Unfair’ Stewart Lee & Armando Iannucci Programme”
With just 42 days until polling day, parties are scrambling around for candidates to stand in seats. Michael Crick reckons there are around 190 seats with no Tory candidates, while Labour have around 100 vacancies still to fill. New candidates are being announced every few minutes. For Labour, it could be a repeat of the Tory 2019 intake, with down to the wire vetting procedures letting in a few…duds…
With the the election a few weeks away, the Tories will be able to parachute in their favoured candidate in those rare Tory safe seats. Guido has been following the various stitch-ups over the last few weeks. Here are a few Westminster insiders to watch that may be parachuted in by CCHQ:
- Seb Payne.
- Jamie Njoku-Goodwin.
- Will Tanner.
- Alice Hopkin.
- James Forsyth.
- David Goss.
- Emily Sheffield.
- Ed Barker.
- Adam Hawksbee.
- James Price.
Meanwhile, reformed trotskyite hack Paul Mason has lost again – he’s missed out on being shortlisted for Corbyn’s seat in Islington North. The parachute regiment mobilises…
It’s all “carnage” in Stratford-on-Avon. Guido hears within 24 hours of Nadhim Zahawi announcing he was standing down, at least a dozen people contacted the association. Meanwhile many dozens of candidates who applied to neighbouring Bromsgrove and Solihull are said to be jumping across to Stratford in a bid to secure a rare Tory safe seat. Triangle of madness…
Michael Crick released a list of names on Thursday of some of the people eyeing up the seat, including Conservative Way Forward CEO Ed Barker, former Member of the London Assembly Tony Devenish, and David Cameron’s sister-in-law Emily Sheffield. That explains Sheffield’s recent chumocratic appointment to a CCHQ role…
It seems the list was leaked from a WhatsApp group created by the Stratford deputy chairman to convene interested parties. It has apparently already been shut down. Meanwhile, displaced Tory MP Stuart Andrew – thanks to boundary changes – is now due to speak at an event hosted by Stratford Conservatives on 27th June. Another name circulating in the SW1 rumour mill is the Adam Smith Institute’s James Price, ex-staffer to Zahawi, who is said to be considering throwing his hat in the ring. More competition for Downing Street’s Will Tanner…
Starmer said to Robert Peston this afternoon:
“I’m fed up with the fact that families across the country see their bills go up and down on energy businesses bills go up and down on energy because of the actions of Putin or Trump across the world.”
