Over the weekend Twitter was trending with news that Boris was yet again doomed because Jonathan Harmsworth (Lord Rothermere) had turned against him. Guido has tracked down the sources of this conspiracy theory…
On Saturday night Tim Walker tweeted about an article he had written for the New European – where Alastair Campbell is Editor-at-Large – which claimed:
It’s over now for Johnson. The Mail papers were his last defenders. They’ve given up on him now, too. The dynamic here was Rothermere and his concern for his papers and Dacre and his concern for his peerage. Rothermere has had enough of that. … Trust me, this change of direction is seismic.
Likewise, Adam Bienkov, political editor of the conspiracy website Byline Times, joined in by opining on Sunday:
The Mail turning on Boris Johnson means the last prop keeping him in power is starting to fall. If it weren’t for his few remaining press supporters, Johnson would have long ago been forced out of Downing Street.
Tim Walker had some kind of breakdown over Brexit, and Adam Bienkov has written for a decade about the coming collapse of Boris. Their followers lapped it up and it was trending on Twitter with much rejoicing and admiration for the new-found wisdom of Lord Rothermere. Monday came, and this morning’s Mail leader will have unravelled all their hopes:
A Daily Mail editorial, fulsome with praise and advice for Boris that suggests perhaps the paper hasn’t turned against him. As it “asserts this paper unequivocally believes Boris Johnson is the right man to lead the party and the country”. Walker and Bienkov have yet to explain how their seismic weekend scoop has unravelled on Monday…
For the past few months it has become clear that certain members of the politico-media bubble have been undergoing a Brexit induced breakdown. The Remainiac bug is spreading – even some Remainers who were previously worth listening to have started to sound like tin-foil hatted conspiracy theorists. It falls upon Guido to stage a public intervention for their own good. Our list does not merely include ultra-Remainers who might be irritating but have kept their marbles. These are the 10 people who have been truly driven off the deep end by Brexit…
Guido wishes them well and looks forward to their post-Brexit recovery in April 2019…
A catty encounter between Michael Gove (who’s clearly enjoying his new Twitter account) and diary journalist turned Remoaner Tim Walker:
@ThatTimWalker Dear Tim – better a has been than a never will be …
— Michael Gove (@michaelgove) October 13, 2016
@ThatTimWalker Nor did you ever a/put yourself up for election or b/play a part in a campaign that secured more votes than any in history
— Michael Gove (@michaelgove) October 13, 2016
@ThatTimWalker Dear Tim I think the entire nation is breathlessly grateful for your record of unselfish public service
— Michael Gove (@michaelgove) October 13, 2016
@ThatTimWalker sweet dreams!
— Michael Gove (@michaelgove) October 13, 2016
You know you’ve lost when you pull the Murdoch card.
Tim Walker has resigned from the Mail on Sunday. Some less kind than Guido would say he has jumped before he was pushed. Tim ran the Girl About Town diary when Charlotte Griffiths was away last week and they are being sued for two stories. Occupational hazard…
Expensive one could be Nancy Dell’olio allegedly having a nose job, which turned out to be complete bollocks. Nancy Dell’Olio has instructed Collyer Bristow, solicitors over the headline “Nancy knows a man who can make your nose thinner for £500”. They say that Dell’Olio has not had treatment from Dr de Souza, nor does she know this doctor.
Girl About Town is in a bit of trouble at the moment. With Walker out, Deborah Sherwood (the deputy editor) gone, and Hanna Flint (the diary reporter) having just left. Charlotte Griffiths is still there, and there are two new diarists on board. Apply by Twitter…
UPDATE: Mail on Sunday management get in touch to insist everything is hunky dory and Tim will be working from home on a freelance basis.
A little birdie tells Guido that pugnacious diarist Tim Walker, formerly editor of the Telegraph’s retired Mandrake column and most recently found at the Mirror, is off to the Mail on Sunday. Walker’s inside track on the world of hard-partying aristos is rivalled only by the daily’s Sebastian Shakespeare, and is probably better suited at the MoS than a redtop. Guido hopes this means Tim’s Twitter claws will be back out and we can look forward to some more outstandingly catty bitch fights with the Times Diary…