LONDON EVENING STANDARD takes its time before publishing real comments on its coverage of “London Politics”

LONDON EVENING STANDARD takes its time before publishing real comments on its coverage of “London Politics”

27 March 2012

By © Muhammad Haque

1640 Hrs GMT

London

Tuesday

27 March 2012

The web site fo the London EVE INING STANDARD has failed to publish the comment that I have posted on its site in the past 40 minutes.

This is usual. Since the ES changed its comment posting system, most comments get put onine by them without fuss. The fuss onky occus when they do nt want top carry a given comment. Mine tiday appaers t be one such.

So I pibsh the comment here.

Your piece is correctly topical. Could you look at the contents of the known candidates' known records "for the wider public" as opposed to "for their own careers"? It would also serve the cause of democratic accountability to hear from you about how you have found the conduct of the London Assembly members over the years that you have been covering the Onion. Have they justified the £Millions of public money that is spent on keeping and on maintaining them? And a hundred other questions like this about the Assembly. There is still a month of reporting time left before the “key” to the London Onion is allocated to whoever! And another period of silence descends about the “suitability” of these persons to claim to be in the offices [Assembly and the Onion] in the name of the people London.So far as I can verify, neither the London EVENING STANDARD or any of the “Fleet Street” titles nor their broadcasting counterparts has EVER carried out----------- or published any i-depth and democratically relevant------------ investigation ito the democratic usefulness or otherwise of the “London Assembly”. Yet the Assembly and the Onion-"holder" have been allowed £Billions to spend IN THE NAME of the people of London! It is about time that the “mainstream” Media did scrutinise both the London Assembly and the Onion-"holder"! The tokenistic “interview” that the BBC London did last night [with Ken Livingstone] did feature four BBC “persons” apparently asking highly sophisticated questions of that candidate but it was such a shallow event! I suspect their promised one with Boris Johnson to be shown in the next hour, will be equally shallow and as banal. Unless some historic, epoch-making CHANGE has happened in or about the BBC’s ENCOUNTER with Boris Johnson.The people of London deserve much more evidence, rigour and far higher standard of journalism than the charades that the broadcasting outlets stage and call them special dedicated events about the “Mayor of London elections” typify.

Muhammad HaqueLess than a minute ago Your comment is awaiting moderation Your piece is correctly topical. Could you look at the contents of the known candidates' known records "for the wider public" as opposed to "for their own careers"? It would also serve the cause of democratic accountability to hear from you about how you have found the conduct of the London Assembly members over the years that you have been covering the Onion. Have they justified the £Millions of public money that is spent on keeping and on maintaining them? And a hundred other questions like this about the Assembly. There is still a month of reporting time left before the “key” to the London Onion is allocated to whoever! And another period of silence descends about the “suitability” of these persons to claim to be in the offices [Assembly and the Onion] in the name of the people London.So far as I can verify, neither the London EVENING STANDARD or any of the “Fleet Street” titles nor their broadcasting counterparts has EVER carried out----------- or published any i-depth and democratically relevant------------ investigation ito the democratic usefulness or otherwise of the “London Assembly”. Yet the Assembly and the Onion-"holder" have been allowed £Billions to spend IN THE NAME of the people of London! It is about time that the “mainstream” Media did scrutinise both the London Assembly and the Onion-"holder"! The tokenistic “interview” that the BBC London did last night [with Ken Livingstone] did feature four BBC “persons” apparently asking highly sophisticated questions of that candidate but it was such a shallow event! I suspect their promised one with Boris Johnson to be shown in the next hour, will be equally shallow and as banal. Unless some historic, epoch-making CHANGE has happened in or about the BBC’s ENCOUNTER with Boris Johnson.The people of London deserve much more evidence, rigour and far higher standard of journalism than the charades that the broadcasting outlets stage and call them special dedicated events about the “Mayor of London elections” typify.

British Media toxicity: Sky News "guests" Maguire and Pierce perpetrate a lie and mock Guardian "style” rather than talk about Guardian’s report

Questions for Kevin Maguire who faked it on Sky News over Guardian 'style'!

0840 Hrs GMT London Tuesday 27 March 2012.

Kevin Maguire last night on Sky News “Press Preview” slot [2230 -2300 GMT 26 March 2012] faked it in “tune” with Andrew Pierce, the over the top Reactionary propagandist [who has a ot to hide especially abut his own “biography’] who has been doing his “journalism” for Right-wingers for the past at least 20 years. The fakery by Maguire was all the more astonishing because it is his role on Sky News to come across as being the “left’ of the “establishment spectrum.
In an extraordinary outburst of idiocy, Maguire agreed to go along with Andrew Pierce and diss the Guardian’s “style” and in doing so serve Rupert Murdoch’s agenda on Sky News. Sky News’ on-site controllers and editors must have been “relieved’ that the pair of touts [Maguire and Pierce] did the job and allowed viewers to be diverted from the real facts alleged in the Guardian front-page piece to the effect that serious criminality had been alleged against another Murdoch operation: this one too close for comfort for the SKY NEWS controlling outfit BSKYB.

..[To be continued]

KHOODEELAAR!TOLD The Mirror so for years. Now the Mirror echoes us on Big Biz grip on UK MPs, Govt

EXCLUSIVE AADHIKARonline pub,ishing. 0100 Hrs GMT London Tuesday 27 March 2012..

The © Muhammad Haque Daily Ethical Commentary on the URGENT need for a moral, genuinely democratic and rigourously just Constitution in the UK.

Context and topic The Sunday Times reports on “Dave” Cameron and SamCam “dinner dates” for “Premier league” SUMS payers from Big Biz [3]

KHOODEELAAR! the campaign [and the Movement of which KHOODEELAAR! campaign is a part] has TOLD The Mirror so for years. that Big Biz sets the agenda and controls the UK Parliament. Now the Mirror belatedly but contextually topically accurately echoes us on Big Biz grip on UK MPs, Govt.

The London Daily Mirror [web site piece we reproduce below at 0055 - 0105 GMT Tuesday 27 March 2012 is only a bit of a bigger admission that is happening across “Fleet Street” today] has now admitted the prevalence of the corrupting Capitalist grip. It does not g far enough in the reporting. But even the extent to which the London Daily Mirror has gone is positive and we shall be examining the rest f Feet Street role in the days, weeks and months to come.

As we said on Monday, the entire future of Society in Britain is threatened now by the ferocious grip on UK parliament emt and “Politics” THAT BIG Biz has and wields.

[To be continued[]

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• Comments
• 27 Mar 2012 00:00

Tory sleaze: Ferocious grip of big business on the Conservatives revealed

The “Premier League” list of wealthy donors invited upstairs into the PM’s Downing Street flat is dominated by City fatcats and leaders of industry

Host with the most: Prime Minister David Cameron

PA

Big business has a vice-like grip round the Tory party’s heart – and it was brutally exposed yesterday.

The so-called “Premier League” list of wealthy donors invited upstairs into the PM’s Downing Street flat is dominated by City fatcats and leaders of industry.

David Cameron was last night fighting claims that the super-rich were handed a say on Government policies.

Two major donors, Adrian Beecroft and Sir Anthony Bamford, have called for business taxes and workers’ rights to be slashed in dossiers for the PM.

Ex-Tory treasurer Michael Spencer led calls for cuts in corporation tax and the 50p top rate long before George Osborne announced them in last week’s Budget.

Other wealthy donors invited into the PM’s inner sanctum have also prospered handsomely under the Conservatives.

These include oil tycoon Ian Taylor, who landed deals worth more than £600million with Libyan rebels, and hedge fund boss Paul Ruddock, who had a stake in the first private healthcare firm to take over an NHS hospital.

Reviewing the exclusive guest list in the House of Commons yesterday, Labour leader Ed Miliband declared: “I bet they did all right in the Budget.”

Mr Cameron’s allies and his army of spin chiefs claimed yesterday that donors cannot buy undue influence.

But disgraced ex- treasurer Peter Cruddas made it clear that those bankrolling the party get a chance to secretly dictate the Government’s programme.

Mr Cruddas, who has given more than £800,000 to the Tories in the past three years, was caught on camera at the weekend explaining how the system works as he touted for cash.

He boasted how he pressed the PM to scrap plans for a tax on financial transactions. He also described how a donation of £200,000 or more is “Premier League” and guarantees a dinner with the PM or his Chancellor.

One of the biggest Tory donors is venture capitalist Mr Beecroft, who has given almost £600,000 to the party.

He was asked by Mr Cameron’s Downing Street team to come up with ways to boost business.

Cam dine with me - the video

Tories' Premier League donors

He proposed a vicious assault on workers’ rights in a report so explosive that the Government has refused to officially publish it.

His leaked call to scrap unfair dismissal sparked a ferocious Lib Dem backlash.

The Department for Business is still consulting on other ways to strip employees of their protection in the workplace. JCB chief Sir Anthony Bamford – who has given the Tories £1.8million – produced a separate report for Mr Cameron which urged him to cut business taxes to help engineering firms.

Sir Anthony’s digging firm also received cash from the Government’s regional growth fund on the same day his younger brother Mark donated £150,000.

JCB said the timing was merely a coincidence. Sir Anthony told the PM the UK was falling behind foreign competitors and the Treasury must give firms greater incentives for capital investment.

Another guest, former party treasurer Michael Spencer, was loudly calling for the Tories to cut taxes on big business and the super-rich ahead of the last election, which he and his pals bankrolled.

Ian Taylor – the chief executive of Vitol Oil who’s given the Tories almost £500,000 – was an upstairs visitor to Downing Street a fortnight after Colonel Gaddafi was killed. His firm landed a £600million-plus contract to ship supplies in and out of Libya.

Tory MP Alan Duncan, who used to work at Vitol Oil as a trader, convinced the PM that fuel supplies were a key way of tipping the balance in favour of rebel fighters in the country.

Vitol Oil stresses the company was urged to do business with the rebels by several governments and denies exploiting links to the Tories.

Another Downing Street guest was hedge fund boss Mr Ruddock, who has given the Tories more than £500,000.

He had a stake in private healthcare firm Circle Health, which was handed a highly controversial £1billion, 10-year deal to take control last year of the NHS Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Huntingdon, Cambs. There is no suggestion that Vitol or Mr Ruddock set out to influence Conservative party policy.

But Mr Cruddas’ claims that access to the Prime Minister can be bought are nothing new.

Earlier this year businessman Rickie Sehgal, the chairman of the British Asian Conservative Link, was filmed bragging he could get the PM’s personal mobile phone number if a donor paid £10,000.

He later retracted the claim, saying he had been “boasting” – exactly the same excuse issued by Mr Cruddas.

In another controversy, Andrew Cook – who runs three steel plants and has donated £750,000 to the Conservatives – called for the Government to cancel a planned £80million loan to Sheffield Forgemasters in 2010.

Dorneywood: The Chancellor's des res retreat

Getty

Chequers: Prime Minister's lavish country residence

Getty

In a letter to business minister Mark Prisk, he said: “I am the largest donor to the Conservative Party in Yorkshire and have been since David Cameron was elected leader.” The proposed loan was subsequently cancelled.

Other businessmen with the ear of the PM include Simon Wolfson, the chief executive of Next who has given more than £350,000 to the party and was made a peer by Mr Cameron.

Lord Wolfson was among a number of prominent businessmen to sign a letter during the 2010 election campaign backing the Tories’ plans to block a rise in National Insurance.

Other signatories included Sir Anthony Bamford, the boss of the PM’s favourite company.

JCB was the only UK company name-checked by Mr Cameron in his party conference speech last year. Mr Cameron also opened JCB’s plant in India when he was leader of the opposition.

During the 2010 general election campaign, the Conservative leader proved how much he was willing to support Tory-friendly businesses.

Mr Cameron visited B&Q, Warburtons, Bestway, Fuller’s brewery and Jewsons during the campaign. The chief executives of all these firms had publicly backed Tory policy on National Insurance.

To their delight, the Government halted the proposed rise after it was elected.

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