Hats off to Investigative Journalism

This morning's Independent thanks to the the Bureau of Investigative Journalism has exposed the shady world of lobbying catching executives at Bell Pottinger boasting of their access to the heart of the Government and how they the "dark arts" to bury bad coverage and influence public opinion.

A big plus for the Independent bucking the trend that many in journalism seem to think is our saviour of data journalism instead showing that good old fashioned subversion can produce an illuminating story.

You can read all about how the Bureau went about its investigation HERE but here is a snippet

The Bureau set up a fictional organisation,the ‘Azimov Group’. We described the organisation as a team of British and eastern European investors, with close links to the Uzbekistan government concerned with exporting cotton textiles. To support our cover story, we set up a website, which listed a London address, mobile number and email address.

And HERE is a video showing exactly how they set up the sting.

The story will no doubt run.Uzbekistan was called the ‘Worst of the Worst‘ list of repressive regimes in 2011 by the US think-tank Freedom House.

A number of years earlier, the regime had gained a reputation after allegedly boiling a religious prisoner to death, and is frequently accused of torturing people to obtain confessions.

Bell Pottinger is one of the largest multinational PR firms in London, closely connected to the Conservative party and it appears took the bait almost instantly.

Expect more damaging recuperation's

Marriages for the Indy and the Standard

So it appears that the long awaited merger of the London Evening Standard and the Independent is underway.

The Guardian are reporting that the sports and business departments at both newspapers are to be integrated.

In a statement released at lunchtime the papers said

"The Evening Standard and The Independent are both exploring ways to see how integration between them in a limited way can benefit all the papers owned by the Lebedevs.This is a constructive and useful way to maintain our high quality journalism and reduce costs in an economic climate which has hurt the whole newspaper industry."

Let's hope it goes better than the redesign of the website which has been fraught with problems since it went live yesterday.The rumour is that it is coding problems but I am sure Comrade Lebedev will be onto it?

Rapture index hits new highs

If you are feeling a bit down after a long week,it's probably est if you don't read the Indy this morning which reports that a new index shows imminent Armageddon is a cause for worry.

The little-known measure of current affairs known as the Rapture Index monitors the frequency and intensity of the end-time signs mentioned in the Bible and says the paper has been at an all-time high. In August it hit an unprecedented 184.

Quote of the Day No I

Comes from Steve Richards in the Independent,quietly reminding the Tories that they did not win the last election

At this stage of the political cycle, Cameron cannot do without the Lib Dems. The Tories have no overall majority, as the fate of the health reforms highlighted

Time to change ?

If you read this morning's papers you may feel get the impression that we are living in a police state


This rampant executive must be brought under control says the Independent in its editorial this morning.

The paper,responding to the poltical events of the week says that

This has been a week to provoke uncomfortable contemplation about the sort of country we are we now living in

The Indy adds that

The common imprint on each of these stories is that of the unaccountable and rampant executive arm of the British state.

According to the paper

This twisted state of affairs – civil servants hyping security threats, the police assaulting innocent members of the public, local councils snooping on their electorates – did not arise overnight. It is a toxic consequence of years of illiberal policy-making and a growing arrogance on the part of those who govern Britain

15%,11% now just 1%

Back after a long weekend away.

Much on the Damien Green affair,many revelations coming out of the Mumbai terror attacks,Haringay Councils child policy on the line and the opinion polls all over the place.

The latest this morning gives the Tories a 1 point lead over Labour which after seperate polls showing a 15% and an 11% lead shows the volitity of the current situation.

The poll in this morning's Independent suggests that

the measures in last week's pre-Budget report (PBR), including a new 45p-in-the-pound top rate of tax on incomes over £150,000, have proved popular among Labour's core voters.
The survey, taken between Friday and Sunday, puts the Tories on 37 per cent (down two points on last month), Labour on 36 per cent (up five points), the Liberal Democrats on 17 per cent (up one point) and other parties on 10 per cent (down four points).

According to James Forsyth

This is drastically at odds with the other polls that have come out since the PBR which have shown increased Tory leads. It is even more surprising when you consider that ComRes's last poll has the Tories ahead by 11 points. I’m tempted to dismiss it as a rogue poll

Darling realistic but optimistic

Alistair Darling was mocked after his interview with the Guardian during the summer recess in which he made dire warnings about this being the worst recession for 60 years.

Well he may now be correct and this morning gives an exclusive interview to the Independent which is well worth a read

"There is a way to go yet. There will be a few bumps on the way and we are going to have to negotiate our way through that difficult time. The world has been hit by two great shocks at the same time – the credit crisis, the more enduring and difficult one – and a very large spike in energy prices."

is his synopsis of the situation facing us which ties in very much with what Mervyn King was saying yesterday but he remains optimistic

We have had 10 years of very solid growth in this country. We reduced the debt we inherited and spent money where it was needed on schools, hospitals and transport. We also go into this period with interest rates the lowest since the year after I was born [1954]. Inflation is coming back down."

And he insists that his fiscal stimulus is the correct thing to do

You should support the economy at the present time. It would be utter madness to start taking money out of the economy at the moment. That would make a difficult position even worse,"

Papers line up over the Euro result

Nothing divides the National press more than the European Union and thsi morning is no exception as Parliament votes not to have a referendum on the European treaty.

The usual suspects line up on both sides.

The Mail with a front page headline

A shaming day for democracy

The British people were finally denied a say on the EU constitution last night after a momentous day in the Commons.
MPs voted against holding a referendum on the biggest shift of power to Brussels for at least a decade.
This was despite pledges from both Labour and the Liberal Democrats that voters would have the chance to decide the issue.

Its leader describing the Day that Democracy died

The Sun says the Eu referendum is Brown bread

The “listening PM” ignored the demands of nine out of ten British voters and denied them the say he promised.
Mr Brown broke Labour’s 2005 general election pledge as he ordered his foot soldiers to reject a referendum.
However, 29 of his MPs rebelled and voted for a national poll.
Mealy-mouthed Lib Dems also broke their pledge to give the nation a say on the Lisbon Treaty.

And its editorial describes

it was cowardice that made Gordon Brown break his word over the EU Treaty referendum.
He reneged on his promise to hold one because he was scared of losing.
As a result, Mr Brown demeaned himself and damaged democracy

The Telegraph hasn't given up hope

Referendum campaigners admitted they had suffered a setback. But they refused to give up and said they were pinning their hopes on the House of Lords taking on the Commons and backing a referendum.
William Hague, the shadow foreign secretary, said after the vote that he hoped peers in the Upper House would reverse the Commons vote and ensure Labour and the Lib Dems honoured their election promises to hold a referendum.

Whilst affiriming in its leading article that

In an unworthy display of political cynicism, the Government ordered its own MPs to vote against one of the manifesto pledges on which they were all elected.

The Mirror supports the Prime Minister describing how Gordon Brown wins historic victory on EU treaty

The PM told the Tories: "When will you wake up to the fact that 3.5 million jobs are dependent on our membership of the EU, that 700,000 companies are trading with Europe, that 60 per cent of our trade is with Europe?"

Its editorial telling us that

Eurosceptics last night suffered a devastating defeat from which they will never recover.
By rejecting a referendum on the Treaty of Lisbon by 63 votes, the House of Commons passed a point of no return

The Independent describes

Victory for the Government in last night's vote on whether there ought to be a national referendum on the Lisbon treaty was the right result adding that

it should be quite clear to the objective observer that this treaty does not represent a shift in Britain's relationship with the European Union worthy of a referendum, no matter what the die-hard Eurosceptic lobby maintains.