Harold Wilson famously said that a week in politics is a long time.
Last week when the story broke by an investigative journalist, on Twitter, that Newsnight was going to name the name of a prominent Tory involved in a paedophile investigation, I became excited and watched only to be disappointed when Newsnight failed to name him. Apparently the Tory threatened to sue if he was named. Whilst Newsnight bottled it, this was like a red rag to a bull to me so I set out to find the name and name him which is precisely what I did. Mission accomplished.
Last night The Guardian ran with this story...
'Mistaken identity' led to top Tory abuse claim
Note that mistaken identity is in inverted commas. That is, that The Guardian is being careful not to state that Lord McAlpine is innocent. It is the first time that the MSM has named him. Lord McAlpine cannot sue for defamation of character because The Guardian has not accused him of anything. It might simply be a ploy of being the first to name him without actually accusing him.
Then this morning The Daily Telegraph steals The Guardian story without giving any credit where it is due and simply rehashes the story...
Senior Tory 'wrongly linked' to child abuse
The high-ranking Conservative at the centre of sex abuse allegations made by a former care home resident has been wrongly named, new evidence suggests.
Note that wrongly linked is also in inverted commas.Whether this is a case of mistaken identity/wrongly linked I feel that Lord McAlpine rather than threatening to sue Newsnight could have and should have expained this position because he was able to do so and it would have killed the story stone dead. It is like those who sought injunctions to gag the media, all that happened is ihat the internet named names. Cover ups don't work in this day and age. It s also like the police issuing a caution "if you don't say now what you later rely on in court". And a judge stating that a jury may draw its own conclusions from a defendant exercising a right to silence.
There is also the possibility that following on from the expenses scandal and phone hacking scandal that the Tories are seeking to curb the media to stop the public finding out what the government is up to. Hence secret courts to hide torture allegations. In other words, this all could be a Tory plot. We know they have tried to discredit human rights to abolish the HRA.
I make no apology for winning the name game. The Guardian came in second. And Newsnight came in last place.
Update:
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