'Stitched up' Humphrys faces BBC probe

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

The BBC has launched an inquiry into allegations that its best-known radio presenter, the Today programme's John Humphrys, made scathing remarks about leading Labour figures.Humphrys strongly denied the allegations last night, saying his comments had been part of a 'good humoured, light-hearted speech' and 'meant with great affection'.

The form in which they had been reported 'clearly suggest a stitch-up,' he said. He took particular exception to a suggestion that he had said government ministers had to lie to get on.

'It is absolute nonsense that I ever said that,' Humphrys told The Observer

(...)

Downing Street, reportedly keen to avoid a new clash with the BBC, refused to comment on the allegations, which included remarks that Gordon Brown 'was the most boring political interviewee' Humphrys had ever met and that Peter Mandelson, now a European commissioner and still close to the Prime Minister, was universally detested. Last night Mandelson hit back publicly at the presenter. He said Humphrys had been seeking revenge for having been criticised over the Today report that accused the government of having 'sexed up' intelligence about Saddam Hussein's 'weapons of mass destruction' before the Iraq war.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,1562479,00.html

[evermind]

1. The Times has the full text of Humphrys' speech

and some of it is quite amusing.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1762192,00.html

...

Peter Mandelson, now there is a man they, I think probably all, detest. I said to somebody once, ‘why do you all take an instant dislike to Mandleson?’ and he said ‘well, it saves time’. He said, ‘he’s a hard man to dislike but it’s worth the effort’.

...

I do get to interview Gordon Brown a lot, oh joy. He may or may not, we have yet to see, be a great Chancellor of the Exchequer, but by God he is quite easily the most boring political interviewee I have ever had in my whole bloody life, without any exceptions.

<snip>

He will say ‘I’ve got three points to make in answer to that question, and then he will go one . . two . . three . . and by the third point you’re beginning to lose the will to live. And I got really, really fed up with this after one of these disgraceful displays and I said to him afterwards ‘look, it really is very annoying Gordon, can you stop doing that’.

And he said ‘I didn’t realise, three points, three points, I’ll stop doing that, I didn’t realise I was doing that’ Let’s see. Next time I interviewed him, we got to that point in the interview where he would have done this little routine and I asked him whatever the question was and he gave me a little wink from his one good eye and he said ‘I’ve got five points to make in answer to that’. So mostly I get saddled with John Prescott, you see . . All you’ve got to do is say John Prescott and people laugh, it’s not fair is it?

[non sociopath skin]

4. If they need to take a head-count to see if everybody hates Mandelson ...

... they can start with me, if they like.

The Skin

[Benbow]

5. And me. n/t

[Benbow]

6. That's very amusing - dry and witty - politicians have rhinoceros-hides

and vast precious egos.

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. I can't see the problem with what he said

I mean, a joke about how John Prescott has trouble expressing himself? I'm disappointed Grade thought it worth looking into - the transcript looks quite enough to know that it's not worth pursuing.

[Briar]

3. I'm amazed that the Government is still denying

that the September dossier was spun. What world do they live in? Oh, yes, one where the Iraq debacle has nothing to do with terrorism.

Apparently the Times reporters who are pushing this story are all "very close" (according to a guest on Broadcasting House) to No. 10 and this is all spin designed to bring the BBC even closer to heel.

Which makes me wonder what news is about to break which the Government desperately wants spun in its favour.

[tjwmason]

7. My response exactly

I assumed that the Beeb was about to get hold of something that Poodle-boy & Co. wouldn't like. That was at 9:30 this morning, before I'd had coffee - bloody hell is this government making me into a tired old-cynic.

[D-Notice]

8. Chris Morris

was right about Michael Grade...

[Briar]

9. Blair aide admits leaking tape of Humphrys speech to Times

Blair aide admits leaking tape of Humphrys speech to Times

Patrick Wintour, political correspondent

Labour was accused last night of a smear campaign against the BBC presenter John Humphrys after a Downing Street official admitted he had passed to a newspaper details of a speech by Humphrys attacking senior Labour politicians.

Tim Allan, a long-time colleague of the prime minister recently courted by Tony Blair to be his director of communications, conceded last night that he had passed a transcript of the speech to the Times.

...

Mr Allan runs a PR firm and has never denied that he is critical of British journalism, especially the BBC's performance over allegations that Mr Blair had lied about the existence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

(Which he did. The world knows it.)

More at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardianpolitics/story/0,3605,1563585,00.html

[Briar]

10. The BBC proves its partiality to the government

by reprimanding Humphrys for the crime of speaking the truth!

BBC reprimands 'misguided' John Humphrys

Owen Gibson and Sophie Kirkham

The BBC's director general, Mark Thompson, yesterday risked picking a fight with his most combative star presenter when he rebuked John
Humphrys for making "inappropriate and misguided" remarks that could be used to call the corporation's impartiality into question.

The verdict was an attempt by the BBC to end the row over a speech
Humphrys made to the Communication Directors Forum in June, in which he mocked senior Labour politicians and said some "couldn't give a bugger" whether they lied or not.

...

http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,14173,1564273,00.html