The BBC, MailOnline and The Times ought to explain why they don’t want to discuss Carrie Johnson and alleged corruption at the heart of government; that the PM thought he could get the state to pay his now wife £100,000 per annum is an outrage and the cover-up over it should be called out as such
BBC News presenter Joanna Gosling was understandably slammed yesterday when she tried to “shut down” journalist Rachel Shabi when she raised a perfectly valid point about The Times removing an article about Carrie Johnson and a £100,000 government job she thankfully didn’t get.
Now trending on Twitter as #CarrieGate, Shabi remarked of the latest scandal to hit the anything-but-morally-minded Johnson clan:
“Boris Johnson [is] using this as a distraction… By the way, since we’re looking at The Sunday Times, it is worth saying that The Times still hasn’t explained why it ‘disappeared’ the story yesterday about Boris Johnson as Foreign Secretary.”
“He wanted to appoint his future wife, Carrie Symonds, to Chief of Staff. A £100,000 position and was dissuaded. Er, but that tells us something about his, you, you know…”
In spite of then being interrupted by Gosling, who inappropriately interjected to say “let’s just talk about what’s going on in the UK,” Shabi continued:
“I’m happy to do that, but just wanted to say that we are talking about The Times and we’re talking about foreign affairs… He still has to answer that question though.”
Examined further by The Guardian’s Rowena Mason and Jim Waterson and described as being “at first glance… the political scoop of the weekend,” that The Times story by “veteran lobby journalist” Simon Walters was “withdrawn, without explanation or clarification” is indeed both curious and telling. The same article was later rewritten by the MailOnline – and that also was deleted “without explanation or an editor’s note.”
Of it, an as usual unnamed “No. 10 source” suggested it was “untrue” and “sexist” and added: “This is a grubby, discredited story turned down by most reputable media outlets because it isn’t true. The facts speak for themselves.”
Responding, Walters told The Guardian: “I stand by the story. I went to all the relevant people over two days. Nobody offered me an on-the-record denial and Downing Street didn’t deny it off the record either.”
On Twitter, Tony Blair’s former director of communications Alastair Campbell best summed up this cover-up. He remarked: “[This is] further evidence that much of our media is essentially an extension of the press office of a liar and a crook… If a Labour PM had tried to appoint a mistress to a top job, virtually every paper would lead on it… [Jennifer] Arcuri all over again.”
Pictured top – It’d have been drinks all-round if a brazen blonde who’d previously worked for an organisation, Oceana, funded by the convicted sex offender mucky madam Ghislaine Maxwell had got herself a £100,000 job in spite of being totally lacking in relevant experience.
