Following yesterday’s story pointing out The Guardian’s silence over the report into its historical links to slavery, Guido can now exclusively reveal that the report for the Scott Trust has been undertaken – yet remains unreleased.
The independent investigation – which was commissioned by The Guardian’s owner the Scott Trust – began its research back in July, after Guido identified the paper’s support for the Confederacy during the American Civil War, and that its founder made his fortune in the cotton trade. Ten months later, The Guardian is still keeping quiet on the report’s findings.
The report’s lead author, Dr. Sheryllynne Haggerty, confirmed that not only had the investigation concluded, it was also only ever ‘a scoping report‘ in the first place – which suggests to Guido that its results were obvious from the start. Clearly, The Guardian has been covering up the investigation’s findings for some time…
Guido has asked The Guardian press office for comment. At the time of going to pixel no response has been received.
Last year The Guardian announced that the Scott Trust had commissioned an independent report that would investigate the paper’s historical links to the slave trade – after Guido pointed out that it had given unqualified support to the Confederacy during the American civil war, and its founder made his fortune in the cotton trade. Surely a cancellation offence for the woke…
Back in the 1860s the Manchester Guardian, as it was, gave unqualified support to the confederacy during the American civil war; even reprinting confederate propaganda against the slaves’ liberator, Abraham Lincoln.
“… it was an evil day both for America and the world when he was chosen President of the United States”
– Manchester Guardian, 10th October 1862
Upon the news of President Lincoln’s assassination, the Guardian described the president’s time in office as “abhorrent”, specifically the Proclamation of Emancipation – the act that declared “all persons held as slaves” within the rebellious states “are, and henceforward shall be free.” Perhaps the opposition to emancipation of slaves was driven by the views of their founder, John Edward Taylor, who made his money in the cotton trade – an industry that prospered on the backs of cotton-picking slaves.
On its bicentennial anniversary the paper claims “times change but the Guardian’s values don’t”. That’s all very well, Guido however wants to know, where is the report? The investigation was announced in July 2020, yet since then, Guido hasn’t read a word from either The Guardian or the Scott Trust itself on what they might’ve found. Did we miss its publication?
On Friday Guardianistas Rob Davies and Joseph Smith had an article attacking recipients of furlough funds, “including billionaire tax exiles, Saudi royals and oil-rich Gulf states which have claimed millions of pounds in taxpayer-funded furlough money.”
Based on government information, they claimed their story had “sparked dismay among MPs at the use of a scheme designed to support struggling businesses and prevent mass unemployment, with one complaining of public money being scattered ‘like confetti'” quoting Robert Palmer, of Tax Justice UK, saying: “It’s pretty galling that tax exiles who have minimised their contributions in the good times are asking for a handout when things get tough.” Who else do we know to have minimised their contributions in good times and now claims handouts in hard times?
Guido can reveal that to date Guardian Media Group has claimed some £200,000 in furlough funds, despite having managed for decades to avoid paying corporation tax, even when sheltering a billion pound asset sale in the Caymans Island’s tax haven. Avoiding taxes when it makes money, claiming from the taxpayer when it is in difficulty.
As for billionaires, in the begging footnotes seen at the bottom of articles it pushes a nonsense line that the Guardian that it is “free of the influence of billionaires”. In truth The Guardian solicits millions in subsidies from foundations established by some of the richest billionaires on the planet to push their agendas. Millions are laundered through the opaque foundations of billionaires every year to subsidise the loss making newspaper. Sponsored content guaranteed to toe-the-line desired by the billionaire donors…
N.B. At Guido we didn’t furlough anyone, or make anyone redundant, we weathered the pandemic out of reserves and actually increased headcount. No taxpayers are harmed in the production of Guido.
A coordinated Channel 4 / Guardian ‘hit job’ on the new Prevent anti-radicalisation scheme chairman, William Shawcross, spectacularly backfired after it emerged it has the backing of scores of extremists.
In a letter to The Guardian, hundreds of co-signatories have called into question the credibility of the Government’s Prevent review. Guido thinks it’s the credibility of hacks behind this hatchet job that should be under the spotlight. Even a cursory search by Guido suggests some of the names on the list have dodgy form. Signatories include include those who: praise or defended terrorist groups al-Qaeda and Hamas; call for jihad or praise martyrdom; are members of Islamist lobbying groups, including those linked to the Muslim Brotherhood; advocate for an Islamic caliphate; promote the blood libel and call for the destruction of Israel or disseminate antisemitic conspiracy theories.
Guido recognised some of the names on the list of signatories, which is a roll-call of homophobes, terrorist apologists, supporters of armed jihad and radical Islamists. This hit-job on Shawcross is also getting top-billing on Channel 4 News, OFCOM have never tackled the bias of that broadcaster. Roll on privatisation of Channel 4…
Some of the extremist signatories below;
Back in July the Guardian published a deep dive piece about German tabloid Bild and its attitude to Angela Merkel and the culture wars. It prominently featured an interview with Bild’s editor Julian Reichelt. Yet curiously, the version originally published (and helpfully archived here) does not match the version currently online. The amended article claims it has been altered to fix “mis-transcriptions“. Curious how the edit led to criticism of Angela Merkel mysteriously disappearing, along with a watering down of strong support for the US and Israel…
Original quote:
“Take Merkel,” he said. “Here you have this completely mediocre mind, and the press has created this elaborate mythology around her. That she’s some sort of savage wit in private – which is not true, by the way – and that she’s fantastically clever – which is not true either. She’s just capable of identifying the direction of prevailing winds.”
Amended quote:
He gave the example of Merkel, around whom he said the press had created an “elaborate mythology” that she has such natural wit and is extremely clever, whereas her skill lay in identifying the direction of the prevailing winds.
Original quote:
“You must understand that Bild was right about the three major questions of post-war German life,” Reichelt said. “We backed Israel to the hilt, which you can hardly say for the international left. We backed the USA to the hilt, which the student protesters didn’t want.”
Amended quote:
“You must understand that Bild was right about the three major questions of postwar German life,” Reichelt said. “We backed Israel … , which you can hardly say for the international left. We backed the USA … , which the student protesters didn’t want.”
Guido is told the way interviews take place in Germany is very different to what goes on in the UK. Journalists in the UK tend to interview their subject, then go away and write up a piece and publish it. In Germany there is a third step, where standard practice dictates the interviewee looks over the copy and approve it before publication. Now it’s gone back and significantly watered down the words. Guido suspects what went on here was beyond innocent mis-transcription…
This morning’s Guardian led with a plea from prominent actors to open new Brexit talks to ease up visa rules for artists travelling to the continent. Of the famous faces leading the campaign, one they splashed on the front page was just about the worst person they could have chosen to influence No. 10: Miriam Margolyes. Last year the actress sparked hundreds of Ofcom complaints for a TV outburst shortly after Boris left hospital, suffering from Coronavirus. Margolyes told Channel 4’s The Last Leg:
“I had difficulty not wanting Boris Johnson to die, I wanted him to die, and then I thought that reflects badly on me and I don’t want to be the sort of person who wants people to die.”
Guido points out to the Guardian it’d be hard for Boris to restart Brexit talks if Margolyes’s wish had been fulfilled. Can’t restart talks if you’re dead…
