Twitter bitch fight of the week goes to the Met Police and Just Stop Oil, as the gloves came off over a dispute on who was to blame for blocking the road on Waterloo Bridge. After Just Stop Oil protesters brought traffic to a halt, including an ambulance with a patient on board, the Met announced on X that arrests had been made as activists refused to get off the road. Ding ding…
This is some of the congestion which JSO are causing on Waterloo Bridge.
One of the vehicles is an ambulance on blue lights which is not able to get past.
Officers are continually telling the activists to move out the road so it can pass while making arrests. pic.twitter.com/E2kiM4Wksk
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) November 8, 2023
Just Stop Oil fought back in their usual righteous fashion, protesting that it was the Met officers that were blocking the ambulance, not them. The Met snapped back at JSO, writing that the bridge was blocked thanks to “your activists…If [they] got up and moved to the pavement we could have reopened the road to release the traffic“. An unusual display of animation from the Met…
The bridge is blocked because your activists are laying in the road, as your video shows. If the people who are under arrest worked with us, got up and moved to the pavement we could have reopened the road to release the traffic.
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) November 8, 2023
Good to see the Met sticking it to them online, now how about on the streets…
Chairman of the Commons Standards Committee, Chris Bryant, has told the FT that he wants to see the restoration of a parliamentary rule from 1801 stating that “no member do presume to go out of town without leave of this House”, in an effort to force Nadine Dorries to follow through on her tweet saying she would immediately resign.
Nadine tweeted on June 9 that she would step down “with immediate effect” in protest at not being given a peerage in Boris’s resignation honours list. Nadine subsequently said she was delaying her exit from the Commons while she seeks more information about the process regarding her peerage nomination. This morning she accused Bryant of being attention seeking:
Ahh, Chris Bryant has a book out - well, I never. This latest bout of publicity seeking was so unlike him…
— Rt Hon Nadine Dorries (@NadineDorries) August 8, 2023
All is now clear…
Sir Chris Bryant says he has been assaulted by five MPshttps://t.co/XczUYXGgEC
Nadine also has her book “The Plot” coming out in time for Conservative Party conference in Manchester. Would Guido be too cynical in thinking that resigning her seat to coincide with the book launch would be handy publicity-wise?
This morning Jolyon Maugham decided to test his mettle once again in the Twitter Bitch Fight arena, as he laced up his gloves to face Transport Minister Jesse Norman. Ding ding…
Round one kicked off when Jolyon replied to Jesse’s tweet regarding sewage pollution, with the Kimono King jabbing Norman over the “disgraceful situation” in the River Wye:
How had this disgraceful situation continued for so long, Minister Jesse Norman? https://t.co/P4sm8bqdwJ
— Jo Maugham (@JolyonMaugham) February 16, 2023
Jesse immediately swung back, claiming Jolyon was “not well placed to call anything disgraceful” after his treatment of Norman’s wife… one Kate Bingham. Now it’s personal…
You are not well placed to call anything disgraceful after your treatment of my wife. The inconvenient truth is that this is a complex longstanding problem which needs much local coordination and agreement. The use of fines — for which I campaigned — is another key step forward.
— Jesse Norman (@Jesse_Norman) February 16, 2023
Jesse is, of course, referring to Jolyon’s accusation that Bingham had a “brazen conflict of interest” and “leaked confidential information to investors” as vaccine tsar in 2020. The same accusations that Jesse later printed onto a tea towel for Bingham’s birthday…
Tea towel drama aside, Jolyon stood his ground. The foxbeater wasn’t going down without a fight…
The criticisms of your wife (which I stand by) were first made in the Times. But you are silent about its role and attack me. Is that because you are afraid to criticise power?
— Jo Maugham (@JolyonMaugham) February 16, 2023
Now, back to the point: are you proud of your Government's record in tackling sewage dumping?
On the counterattack, Jesse replied:
Jolyon your standing by your revolting remarks speaks for itself. If I worried about criticising power, I would not have run the 2012 rebellion vs. an elected Lords, got kicked off the No 10 Policy Board for not voting with HMG on Syria, or written a no confidence letter to Boris
— Jesse Norman (@Jesse_Norman) February 16, 2023
On the ropes, Jolyon then claimed Norman was dodging his questions because he’s “afraid to criticise the powerful right wing newspapers that uncovered [Bingham’s abuses”:
You have answered neither of my questions: (1) why are you afraid to criticise the powerful right wing newspapers that uncovered her abuses? (2) Why as a Minister do you write letters to newspapers rather than vote to protect the Wye?
— Jo Maugham (@JolyonMaugham) February 16, 2023
At the end of the round, Norman hit the final haymaker by again sharing the decorative tea towel that still sits in the family kitchen. And pointing out that Jolyon had to withdraw legal action after realising it wouldn’t quite pan out…
You obviously haven’t taken the time to work out that none of these claims was true; and you repeat them even so. You also had to withdraw your disgraceful legal action. Why not spend 5 mins reading her book, which refutes them? Perhaps I can remind you what they were… pic.twitter.com/9EkcNlebFK
— Jesse Norman (@Jesse_Norman) February 16, 2023
Usually Guido leaves it to co-conspirators to decide the winner. In this case, there can be only one loser…
It’s the final Twitter bitch fight of the year, and who better to lace up their gloves one last time than two veterans of the ring: Steve Bray and Owen Jones. They’re back for round 2.
Co-conspirators would be forgiven for thinking their inaugural bout back in September would be their first and last encounter. After all, the final bell rang when Bray decided to block Jones entirely. Today, however, in the spirit of Christmas, the prizefighters have given the people what they really want, and picked up where they left off:
Owen Jones is just an insignificant twat to be honest! I wouldn't worry about that waste of space! https://t.co/gSkwnmPRk2
— Steve Bray on Mastodon @SNB19692@Mastodon.Social (@snb19692) December 20, 2022
Far be it for the likes of Steve Bray to hurl an insult like that at anyone. Jones inevitably swung back:
For example, I wish Steve Bray had rightly treated me as the insignificant twat I am at Conservative Conference, rather than bizarrely screaming about me over his loudspeaker and deliberately trying to stop us interviewing Tories by following us around with his music blaring! pic.twitter.com/1LdbOJ2Way
— Owen Jones (@OwenJones84) December 21, 2022
As always, Guido leaves it to co-conspirators to determine the victor…
Owen Jones has laced up his gloves and returned to the Twitter Bitch Fight arena for another bout. This time, in the blue and gold corner, it’s professional nuisance Steve Bray. Let battle commence.
The opening bell rang when Owen claimed “none of the FBPE types” had intervened when he was being heckled by Tommy Robinson’s goons outside Millbank in 2019. Here’s Owen’s own footage from that day…
Just met some lovely Tommy Robinson fans and I’d love for you to get to know them too pic.twitter.com/iRom8GavNy
— Owen Jones (@OwenJones84) January 7, 2019
Bray, who’s not exactly known for keeping quiet, piped up to say the FBPE crew had actually come to Owen’s rescue. Steve himself apparently even offered a reassuring hand once it was over, like the hero he really is:
For the record I am 100% certain that members of SODEM & as you call them 'FBPE types' did intervene and assist you. Afterwards, I even asked you if you were OK or if there was anything we could do to help you! https://t.co/d3yhX4YrQ7
— Steve Bray Activist Against Brexit +Corrupt Tories (@snb19692) September 1, 2022
Jones remembers things slightly differently, though…
Don’t gaslight me over my own experiences of being hounded by fascists?
— Owen Jones (@OwenJones84) September 1, 2022
The whole thing was filmed and ends with me entering 4 Millbank.
So can you withdraw and apologise for implying I’m a liar, please? https://t.co/SQ3QvppBKv
Rather than apologising, Bray switched gears. Now, instead of offering a supporting hand, he’s insisting his own encounters with protesters were far worse anyway…
What you had for a couple of minutes...we had for over 3 months, I won't be apologising. Your filming doesn't start at the beginning!
— Steve Bray Activist Against Brexit +Corrupt Tories (@snb19692) September 1, 2022
Obviously that didn’t land well with Owen. The fight continues…
Your tweet clearly implies I'm a liar, and I started filming almost exactly at the start, the fact you refuse to say "oh ok sorry I was wrong" is all anybody needs to know about you.
— Owen Jones (@OwenJones84) September 1, 2022
The back-and-forth parrying goes on for a while longer, until Bray eventually lands the final blow in suggesting Owen’s footage simply didn’t capture the FBPE-ers bravery, and rather than continuing the fight, he’s just going to block Jones instead.
Sorry for this everyone but I'm blocking this 🥱now.
— Steve Bray Activist Against Brexit +Corrupt Tories (@snb19692) September 1, 2022
As always, Guido leaves it to co-conspirators to determine the winner…
Forget the Tory Birmingham husting, Guido was privileged to have a ring-side seat at the internecine BBC-on-BBC bias row of the year last night. In the red corner, doing his job and defending BBC impartiality: Neil Henderson, Home and Foreign News Editor & Tomorrow’s Papers Today tweeter; in the blue corner, doing his damndest to undermine the entire BBC: crisp muncher Gary ‘overpaid’ Lineker. Ding ding…
The row started over a day-old tweet from Lineker, who put all his little grey cells towards political commentary to come up with the fair and not-at-all-oversimplified take: “As a politician how could you ever, under any circumstances, bring yourself to vote for pumping sewage into our seas? Unfathomable!” Obviously no politician could – and they haven’t – though the tweet did its job by getting 44,000 likes…
Guido remembers the new BBC director general Tim Davie coming in on a promise of cracking down on BBC stars flouting impartiality rules, such as taking them off Twitter. Fellow BBC employee Neil Henderson made this exact point to Gary, saying he’d be sacked if he tried tweeting such political propaganda:
Unfortunately, it seems Gary is blithely unaware of the fact BBC impartiality applies across all colleagues, not just those in news and current affairs. Guido would be happy to take a look at Lineker’s contract on his behalf…
Neil had one last bite before deleting his spat entirely, probably realising the row was just as bad a look for the BBC as Gary’s unbridled politicking. Henderson correctly asserted:
Guido looks forward to hearing Tim Davie’s thoughts on all this the next time he’s up in front of the DCMS Select Committee. Usually Guido leaves it to co-conspirators to decide who wins a bitch fight, this time there’s only one answer…
