Evening Standard hack Andrew Gilligan launches yet attempt tonight to damage Ken Livingstone and promote his mate Boris Johnson to be Mayor of London.
Gilligan's latest bile targets a range of individuals and organisations who support Ken: from Doreen Lawrence OBE, the mother of murdered schoolboy Stephen Lawrence to Greenpeace and the New Nation newspaper.
Gilligan claims none of them declare their 'interests' in backing Ken for Mayor.
True to form given Gilligan's agenda, tonight's front page fails to mention his own interests in promoting Conservative candidate Boris Johnson.
Gilligan fails to mention that when he was under fire at the BBC for dodgy reporting, it was The Spectator, that staged a 'Save Andrew Gilligan'
dinner at top restaurant Luigi's stuffed with prominent Tories.
And who was The Spectator's editor at the time?
Step forward Boris Johnson.
Andrew Gilligan also fails to mention that after he was forced to resign from the BBC, he was even given a job by The Spectator: where his editor was Boris.
Now he's on The Standard, it's not surprising that Andrew Gilligan is so keen to return the favours and campaign for his old mucker.
Any self-respecting journalist would wish to declare such a clear interest in promoting a particular candidate...but not Gilligan who seems incapable of understanding why Londoners back Ken Livingstone.
It's hardly surprising that decent people feel they have an 'interest' in stopping a Tory who wrote about African people as
'piccaninnies'.
No wonder Doreen Lawrence OBE gave her opinion that Boris Johnson is 'not an appropriate person to run a multi-cultural city like London' and that if elected Mayor he would destroy London's unity.
Like decent people everywhere, Mrs Lawrence was shocked by the 'piccaninnies' revelation. And of course, it was not the first time the Lawrences had cause to feel offended by Boris Johnson...I'm sure they've not forgotten Boris's attack on some of the Macpherson Inquiry recommendations as 'born of political correctness'.
And remember, the Macpherson Inquiry was set up by Labour after the 1997 General Election: for years the Tory Government denied the Lawrences an inquiry into the racist murder of their son.
It's no surprise either that environmental organisations like Greenpeace fear a Boris nightmare.
You only have to look at Ken's vision for a Low Carbon London...
Or his light bulb amnesty, which offered a free energy-saver for every Londoner.
Or his bold plan to increase the congestion charge for Chelsea tractors and the biggest gas-guzzling sports cars - a sensible move described as 'bonkers' by Boris Johnson.
Last week, Greenpeace understandably welcomed Ken Livingstone's Climate Change Action Plan for London.
John Sauven, director of Greenpeace said no other leader was on the same page as Ken Livingstone in showing how the largest city in Europe can combat climate change.
Other environmental pressure groups spoke warmly of Ken's climate change plan.
The Green Party'sPrincipal Speaker welcomed it. And Friends of the Earth's Director Tony Juniper went on record saying: 'Hats off to Ken Livingstone for continuing to show political leadership on tackling climate change...'
Like Greenpeace, their 'interest' is surely returning a Mayor who regularly demonstrates that he is prepared to take the tough action needed to protect London -unlike Boris Johnson, who even opposed the Kyoto Treaty.
But you're not likely to read that in the London Standard...
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2 comments:
Could you point me towards the part of my article which displays any "bile?" Or, in Kenworld, is the simple act of pointing out the facts enough to qualify as bilious?
I have no interests to declare. I was not "given a job" by the Spectator. I wrote for them as a freelance. I have not even done that for more than two years. The Spectator did not organise a "Save Andrew Gilligan" dinner, nor was it "stuffed with Tories." It was organised - and paid for - by the people who attended, who included a Tory MP, a Labour MP, a Lib-Dem MP and a Scot Nat MP, as well as writers from across the political spectrum, including the Guardian and the Observer. Boris was not present at the dinner.
I have often been critical of Boris in my column, within the last month alone describing his campaign as "unimpressive" and as having produced "barely a single policy, let alone an effective deconstruction of any of Ken's.
Mrs Lawrence did not mention the "piccanninies revelation." Her dispute with Boris was that he disagreed with the recommendation of the Macpherson report that using racist language in the home should be a criminal offence. Alas, this position is also shared by the Labour Party. The Labour Government certainly didn't act on that revelation.
But then again your well known to be a Boris mate, thankfully people like you will keep Ken in Power.
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