ITV pointing out huge holes in story raises questions about credibility of articles and book
The Murdoch Times has been running a series of attacks on Jeremy Corbyn extracted from a book written by one of its writers and another from the Guardian, both of whom regularly targeted the Labour Party during his leadership. But its credibility has quickly come into question after ITV exploded one of its claims, a lengthy and detailed attack on Corbyn’s wife, Laura Alvarez – and the Sunday Times backed down and amended the article.
The article casts Alvarez as impatient, demanding and controlling – which those who know her well say is laughable – and goes into considerable detail about her supposed embarrassing interference in a campaign event:
According to one source, Alvarez was “in one of her moods where she decided Jeremy needed to be on TV with his wife”. As a TV crew filmed Corbyn preparing an oatcake with the local parliamentary candidate, Alvarez defied protocol and marched up to Corbyn: “Make me one.” She then sat down and said to him in Spanish: “Make me one with honey. I want one with honey.” Two junior aides frantically intervened and attempted to remove Alvarez, who was obscuring the shot. She refused, giving the staff an upbraiding in full view of the rolling camera. “I’m trying to make him happy and you’re stopping it,” she snapped. “I’m his wife, you need to let me do this, you don’t understand what’s good for him.” Corbyn declined to intervene.
A cameraman whispered to one aide: “What the f*** is going on?” Another aide said: “This is really awkward, what do we do? There are like 10 cameras here, this is f***ing mental.”
It concludes by claiming that Corbyn’s team had to persuade ITV not to use the footage, in order to avoid embarrassment, to the delight of other hacks who habitually attacked the former Labour leader.
But ITV’s head of politics, Amber de Botton, destroyed the claim in a single tweet, in which she made clear that the claim that ITV was asked to withhold any footage was false – and that, as ‘pool’ footage, it was available unedited to other broadcasters:
The Sunday Times removed the claim – but left in the attack on Alvarez, in spite of the obvious questions over its credibility raised by the discredited claim and it remains in the book that the series of extracts is touting.
The SKWAWKBOX contacted co-author Gabriel Pogrund for comment. He declined to comment on the record but stood by the credibility of both the Alvarez claim and the book.
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If the Times, Guardian and BBC are attacking him, even now, he must have been doing something right.
Indeed we know that he got most things right, and Cameron, May, and Johnson got almost everything wrong.
And he was never an apologist for the Tory Party and all its works …..
If they want to go after someone missus who’s an obnoxious media-whoring mouthpiece, demanding people listen to her, then try that michael gove’s tart.
I didn’t even know who Laura Alvarez was up until just before the last election.
Mrs Laura Corbyn I thought…..ITs my age maybe?
Just read a tweet from that matt chorley
https://twitter.com/MattChorley/status/1297645817512300545
Begins: ‘So to bed’ (The gobshite think he’s a latter-day Samuel Pepys, does he? Ok then)
Tweet continues: ‘having spent the day telling people who are obsessed with a man that I’m not obsessed with the man…’
No lad, of course not. Nevermind, Pepys was obsessed with onanism, so it’s small wonder you’ve attempted to model yourself on him.
Mrs Chorley’s little boy Matt, ‘blocked’ me on Sunday. I was so pleased. I wish he could do it again.
Though Jeremy and his wife obviously have my sympathies I hope they take some comfort in this – the fact that they’re still attacking him (and his WIFE ffs!) means they still fear him – that they still see him as a credible threat.
Maybe they’ve already figured out that there’s now a massive Corbyn-shaped hole in British politics – with a couple of hundred thousand ready-made members and a ready-made leader to fill that hole with a new party FOR THE MANY..
We all probably do need to show more solidarity and stop the bickering to tempt him though.
I don’t see us doing that though, do you?
That’ll be because there are plenty of those that aren’t socialist but just pretended to be when socialism was in the ascendancy for the first time within that party.
If Corbyn chooses to remain there as a backbencher in a bliairte party than that’s his lookout. He – and certain others – would garner a lot more in the way of dedicated support if he was to break ranks and do the off from that bunch of goldbricking fly-be-nights.
“ the fact that they’re still attacking him (and his WIFE ffs!) means they still fear him – that they still see him as a credible threat. “
Yes, very true David, but sadly many of the Skwawkbox fraternity seem to be out-doing them and demeaning the wonderful JC in ways the enemy foot soldiers never could.
Is this really about scones and honey? Is it just me, have I missed something important here. It must be my age. Cheers
From further down that twitter page there’s something VERY interesting that the MSM haven’t reported on…
https://twitter.com/i/status/1297301867635052545
I wonder why not?
Unfortunately I have deactivated my Twitter account.
Any chance of a screenshot mate?
It’s a bunch of people who appear to be protesting about someone they think is a paedophile.
They seem to be doing it outside a very palatial-looking building… looks like London 😉
Looks like the Labour insiders will have some rebutting to do in their volumes. I hope they make the MSM look very stupid.
To be fair, Matt Chorley has the intellectual capacity of a box of doorknobs.
That much Frank? LOL
The deadline for those wanting to join the party in time to vote in the upcoming NEC elections is midnight tonight.
Sorry for the error, the deadline expired at midnight last night, so unfortunately anyone who hasn’t already joined has missed out on the opportunity to influence the makeup of the NEC and the future direction of the party
Like it ever makes an difference.
I can understand your cynicism, like many others I have faithfully voted throughout JC’s tenure for the recommended left slate but the pace of change on the much promised democratisation of the the party has been disappointedly glacial.
It’s worse than just ‘disappointingly glacial’ – it stopped halfway up the hill and now it’s rolling backwards.
The champions of the PC ‘liberal left’; the Guardian & the BBC attack Jeremy Corbyn……yet again; now why do they do this?
In cahoots
All building up to JC being booted out
Never ever underestimate how low they go
Just for a moment play out the class action against Quislings and Bad Actors
Although some would like to see Jeremy expelled I don’t think they would dare to try it Dave.Stupid and malicious as they are they have a strong self preservation instinct and know they would lose the support of the membership whose votes canvassing etc they rely on – not our money- they can always fill any slump in subs with donations from the rich and powerful.
The ” liberal” media are not and never have been liberal as the BBC has never been an ” impartial ” Broadcaster. Both are carefully constructed myths to put those who put their trust in these spinners of the narrative off guard. They are voices of the elites who are few but control the many with propaganda outlets such as those to control the tales they want the population to believe.
I appreciate that you used the word ‘liberal’ in its true sense and I agree with your sentiments – just wanted to make the point that the US and increasingly the Tories use it to refer to some very illiberal practices – in the same way they’ve hijacked ‘freedom’ to mean ‘free trade’ and ‘free markets’ – in other words, the freedom of the rich to exploit the rest of us.
I believe the Tory intent is the same – confuse issues around neoliberalism, free trade, free markets. globalism etc. in the minds of their various electorates.
Johnson playing to the St. George-waving lowest common denominator again – BBC talks about not singing ‘Rule Britannia’ or ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ on the last night of the Proms and broadcasting instrumental versions instead – BloJob starts harrumphing like ‘Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells’ about their “cringing embarrassment about Britain’s imperial past.”
Not sure he’s caught the mood of the majority this time, at least I hope not.
God Bless the national white peoples party and their Flag Shagging supporters
Something wrong with being white?
Nothing wrong with being any colour, any ethnicity at all.
What IS your problem?
Has anyone here complained about or insulted you over your heritage which, unless I’m mistaking you for another person, you’ve mentioned in many of your comments as if you expect an insult to be forthcoming.
Has anyone here said a disparaging word about gypsies, gypsy culture or being of mixed heritage?
Strange how fashionable waving the Cross of St.Andrews; St.David or the Tricolour has become. Children in Scottish; Welsh & Irish schools are specifically taught the history of that region of Britain, but in England, the major part of history is the monarchy of Great Britain. Any form of Nationalism has always been on the ‘right wing of politics but now adopted by the trendy ‘Left’. In the provinces, hatred of the English is part of the culture & especially manifests itself in sporting events. I hoped it was just a dislike of the Tories, but even if Jeremy Corbyn had won the last election, the hatred would still be there. The Labour Party has been displaced by Nationalism. The break up of Great Britain is imminent. The Cross of St.George now has the same connotations as the Union Jack. Not fashionable to be a supporter of the Union, but I am British. My mother Welsh; my father Irish & I was born in England. The blood is the same throughout Britain.
Some of us believe that pride in nation, region, religion or even sports team all too easily take people from good natured ribbing and friendly competition to drunken fighting, hatred, oppression and war.
We’re a violent species and we haven’t grown up socially and politically anything like as much as our technology would suggest to an outside observer.
Xenophobia and racism are two cheeks of the same stupid arse.
Diversity is beautiful, brilliant and genetic variety might one day save humanity.
If it’s not obvious, I meant ‘save humanity from extinction’.
His advisors must have told him to forget about waving his union jack flag & the pith helmet as they’d be over the top.
This is how Jeremy Corbyn was brought down and it had little or nothing to do with Brexit:
https://electronicintifada.net/content/bogus-anti-semitism-report-sank-jeremy-corbyn/31026?utm_source=EI+readers&utm_campaign=7f0c791969-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e802a7602d-7f0c791969-299203113
Jack T, wouldn’t you agree that the ‘Labour Heartlands’ in the North probably cared more about immigration and brexit than antisemitism?
Given the level of UKIP support in some previously solid Labour constituencies I don’t see that it could have been otherwise.
Yes, immigration is important to many people, but it’s not either 100% or 100%. Rubin’s report is very specific about their objectives about flacious accusations of AS against left wingers and Corbyn.
BTW – thanks Jack for the link.
David, yes I agree but first you have to ask yourself why? And second you need to accept that those so called Labour Heartlands’ or ‘Red Wall’ areas, call them what you will, are no such thing, they voted Labour out of habit rather than conviction. Any person who did not vote for Labour when Corbyn was Leader is not a ‘Heartland Labour’ supporter.
As to the WHY? They were deluged with anti-Corbyn propaganda. Jeremy Corbyn was so undermined by both the right who relentlessly pushed the anti-Semitism lie and some on the left who were fixated on their one eyed view of the EU, that it was easy for Farage to come in and tell the confused, that Brexit was the answer to their prayers and they took the bait.
True qwertboi and Jack T, but I was referring specifically to the North, where I live. (My own Co-op MP saved his seat)
Before they were ever deluged with anti-Corbyn propaganda they were deluged with UKIP propaganda – not that the white contingent needed that much convincing – in northern towns with BAME populations there’ve always been ‘issues’.
Brits have never been exactly welcoming of strangers.
I’m old enough to have seen in boarding house windows “No dogs, no blacks, no Irish.” and to have been raised by racist and bigoted parents. Many people my age had to fight our upbringings.
I’ve met lots of kippers – racism by the skipload – lots of “P” words and “N” words but only one antisemitic comment in ten years.
For what it’s worth I think antisemitism is very much a 2nd reserve hatred in their tiny minds.
David, again I agree, anti immigration was probably the greatest factor to influence the vote in the NE. I too live in the North but in the West. However, I have also lived and campaigned in the North East. I was on the team with Bob Clay which tried to get Reg Keyes elected instead of Blair.
My point however is that in the country as a whole, among those who were uncertain, it was the constant undermining of Corbyn which did most damage, and that undermining was orchestrated by Zionists. Labour came very close to winning the election in 2017 and because of it, the Zionists panicked and stepped up their frenzied campaign of lies and smears against Corbyn. By election time last year, the outcry against Corbyn from the Zionists had reached a crescendo and whether Brexiters accept it or not it had a big impact upon the result.
……….& in answer to your query What IS your problem? I have a problem with bourgeois bigots who pretend to be tolerant & liberal but in fact despise the poorest, most deprived & alienated social group……..the white working class. No other demographic is so ridiculed & misrepresented. It is not an accident that white working class boys are the lowest educational under-achievers in Britain without any chance of social mobility. They are the only ‘acceptable’ villain in MSM soaps as white working class culture, including music & sport are taken from them.
Their terms & conditions of employment as well as wages are constantly under attack from the Blairite bourgeoisie, as well as the Tories. No political Party represents their interests. Zero hours contracts; a Gig Economy & Self-Employment is as good as it gets for white van man. Thatcher destroyed manufacturing to break the power of the unions. We produced more during the 3 day week than we do now. It is the downtrodden who have to continue to work during the pandemic, because if they don’t work, they don’t get paid…..self isolate joke!
The BBC mantra is to work from home…….perhaps the biggest insult thrown @ the poor. What IS your problem McNiven?
This is the bogus anti-Semitism report that started the rot and sank Jeremy Corbyn.
Campaign Against Anti-semitism put pressure on Urban Dictionary to change their definition of Anti-Zionism….Urban Dictionary did change the definition … every member of the Labour NEC witch-hunt panel should receive this – especially those boasting on LabourList of their membership of the kangaroo court and their vigour:
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=anti-zionism
They haven’t realised yet that Corbyn is no longer the leader. Why be scared of him? A message to Boris, Dom, Laura and Hugh Pym. If he does come back he’s gonna tax the hell outta yer. In Dom’s case it’ll be a windfall tax.
Johnson “acting on the best science” obviously thinks the only good science is Tory science.
Clearly only loyal Tory scientists get the top jobs.
Silly Billy’s They are obviously confusing Jeremy and his Mrs with the Kinnocks.
Many working class people have taken issue with the ‘Metropolitan’ Labour Party & its Islington leadership. They know they are the ‘left behind; & ‘discarded’ by the globalist EU. The Northern Poor House is a reality as all roads of investment lead to London (or Manchester). It doesn’t take an Einstein to understand the first law of economics ‘a surfeit of labour will lower the cost of labour’. Blair understood it; so too Starmer, it would appear many members of bourgeoisie dislike admitting it, but preferring Blair/Starmer’s policies to those of Jeremy Corbyn.
Steve Richards, my problem is only with those of the working class that voted Tory – yes, I’m scornful of them but then I’m also scornful of every middle class idiot earning less than £80k who voted Tory.
That they voted for Brexit was Labour’s fault for not adequately explaining the arguments against it and the Tories’ and Kippers’ fault for lying like fuck about the supposed benefits.
The Tories imported labour from the EU and elsewhere for many reasons – to save on training, keep wages down, sow division and resentment of everything foreign in the working class, and divert blame from themselves for unemployment, immigration and failing services.
That people had insufficient education to see through their bullshit is the fault of successive governments dumbing down education and taking away every employment prospect that made studying worthwhile.
There are said to be whole families that have only known unemployment since the seventies, which is itself a disincentive.
Criminal neglect by all political parties.
Claiming that male black youth is less deprived and alienated than male white youth though – that’s false.
Poor is poor and oppression is oppression whatever the colour of your skin.
What matters is getting a socialist government – in or out of the EU is trivial compared to that.