Jewish Chronicle’s day of monumental screw-ups continues. It attacks Corbyn’s Labour for campaign funds to ally he never got – but only exposes more right-wing shenanigans

Right’s desperation to bury leaked report’s accusations becomes more transparent daily – and rag blows it again as it targets Jewish MP and exposes yet more misconduct by right-wing staffers

The Jewish Chronicle’s embarrassing day of screwed-up attempts to smear Jeremy Corbyn and his supporters has continued with an attack on Labour’s 2017 general election spending on the campaign to defend Jon Trickett.

The Chronicle ‘exclusively’ ‘reveals’ that Corbyn’s office ‘pushed’ for campaign funding to be channelled into Trickett’s constituency – presumably the Labour right hopes that this will divert attention from the leaked Labour report.

But in fact, the paper and its disgraced hack Lee Harpin manage to again underline just how far right-wing staffers were sabotaging the leadership’s electoral plan and priority – and focuses its attack on Corbyn for defending a Jewish colleague.

The funds that never were

It’s notable, in a close reading of Harpin’s article, that it only claims Corbyn’s team ‘pushed’ and planned for funding to go to Trickett’s constituency – but never actually says the money was spent.

That’s because it wasn’t. Corbyn’s team planned the spending – and the money never arrived.

So in its article, the Chronicle actually reveals again just how far right-wing Labour staff, who were responsible for executing the leadership’s campaign plan, were instead sabotaging the campaign plans of the party’s leadership.

Authority vs subterfuge

The Labour right appears to be hoping that by selectively leaking to their friends in the media, they can create an impression of Labour’s left-wing leadership doing the same as right-wing HQ staff who have been exposed channelling funds to the ‘Ergon House’ project to protect right-wing MPs.

But the difference is simple: as Labour’s leader, Corbyn was entitled and authorised to decide the 2017 campaign spending priorities. The right-wing staff, by contrast, had authority to carry out the wishes of the leadership and the party’s national executive – instead, they allegedly undermined those wishes and secretly diverted funds via the ‘Ergon House’ project – secretly, at least, until their WhatsApp messages in the leaked report exposed it.

What really happened

In fact, rather than wanting funds to be focused on his own constituency, party messages and emails seen by the SKWAWKBOX show that Trickett asked for advertising funds to be spent in neighbouring constituencies that were more marginal – including one held by right-winger Mary Creagh and the Morley and Outwood constituency lost by Ed Balls in 2015.

Defending a Jewish MP

Even if the funds had been spent on Trickett’s constituency, Trickett identifies as Jewish and has a Jewish maternal line. So we have the bizarre spectacle of a Jewish newspaper attacking Labour’s leader for planning to spend some campaign funds – as he was perfectly entitled to do – to support and defend a Jewish colleague.

And in the process the paper gives away that right-wing Labour staff accused in the leaked report made sure that those funds from reaching him – or even the neighbouring constituencies in which they were meant to be spent.

That the funds were never spent on Trickett’s campaign is given away in a spokesperson’s comment quoted by the Jewish Chronicle:

A spokesperson for Mr Trickett said: ”The 2017 Hemsworth campaign spent significantly less than the statutory spending cap and received no special additional central funding.”

Having a bad day

Harpin and the Jewish Chronicle are having a bad day. As well as wrongly accusing the Labour left in the Trickett case and accidentally exposing more wrongdoing by the Labour right, it also accused Carole Morgan – who set up the hugely successful crowdfund to cover any costs of Jeremy Corbyn’s legal defence against attacks – of not declaring that she was involved with a company that was going to administer the funds raised.

Except the company has no role and will have no role in administering the funds – and Morgan had clearly declared her links with Truth Defence in the very crowdfund update the Chronicle quoted.

Facts 2, Jewish Chronicle nil.

Form

Not even six months ago, the Jewish Chronicle had to pay compensation to Liverpool Labour icon Audrey White for four articles accusing Ms White of behaviour that the paper had to admit – in a humiliating apology – was simply untrue. The paper did not defend itself in court, but settled with Ms White before a judge could make an order on its behaviour and required restitution.

The Merseyside Pensioners’ Association, to which Ms White belongs, described the articles as a ‘litany of lies‘.

The Jewish Chronicle was also slammed by regulator IPSO for its reckless publication of untrue accusations that it could not (and apparently didn’t even try) to substantiate – and for failing to cooperate with IPSO’s investigation. IPSO also referred the Chronicle’s behaviour to its own Standards Department.

All four of the articles for which the Chronicle was forced to apologise were penned by Lee Harpin, who also wrote both the Trickett and Morgan articles discussed above.

The Jewish Chronicle could not be reached for comment.

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