Is it time to give Gordon a break?
The Prime Minister is facing more criticism over a letter he sent to the mum of a soldier killed in Afghanistan.
The Sun has a tape of him on the phone to the mum of Jamie Janes, apologising for any "unintended mistakes" but denying spelling her son's name wrong. Mrs Janes says she "begs to differ".
Can he now do ANYTHING right? His every move is scrutinised - he can't even go jogging without a less-than-flattering photo appearing in the paper - so is it time to lay off Gordon Brown?
That's the phone-in with Nicky from 9am.
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I have no time for the man but I do feel that this incident is being used as a stick to beat him with. The Sun are doing this for their own reasons, not least to make money.
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My sympathy is with Mrs Janes over the loss of her Son, however I think the fact that her grief has been transferred from anger of her Son's death, to actively attacking the grammatical content of a heartfelt hand written letter from the PM is quite frankly everything that is wrong with how we deal with these issues as they arise in this country. Media, and individuals blow these issues out of all proportion. He sent a hand written letter to offer sympathy, and also rang her to apologise about the letter (something other Governments hadn't). This is a mistake....there are many things to lobby Mr Brown over, his handwriting is not one of them. An honest mistake is all this is! Please convey this message Nicky as I have had similar conversations with everyone I've so far spoken to about this. It's going to far!
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Gordon need a sympathetic PA to help him with his disability when writing letters by hand See Nick Robertson on 'when politics matter' here
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/nickrobinson/ but then Murdoch is anti Gordon and likes Dave (a bit)
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This unjustified attack on the Prime Minister by the Sun is a disgraceful piece of journalism. I hope the readers of that newspaper will show their contempt for such shabby behaviour by transferring their allegiance to another paper.
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I don't remember New Labour or the BBC crying about all the grief heaped on John Major, and it should be remembered that much of this personal attacks, nastiness, and smearing is New Labour's stock in trade, and has been for the last 10 years.
So what goes around, comes around, and its a bit late for New Labour to bleat about it now, when they were happy to profit from it and worse sanction the personal attacks.
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The phone-in started with a long interview between Nicky and Charlie Whelan, Brown's personal spin-doctor, complaining about the Sun.
I don't remember Whelan complaining in 1997, when the Sun backed Blair.
Call a General Election, then Brown will hopefully get the "break" he deserves.
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Nicky, you have lost control of the phone in with the 2 women now talking. Just as well as it's the end.
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Control is never maintained - in true red-top style 'Nicky' allows the mob to rule. It's all 'Bob meet Julie, Bob and Julie meet Sean - away you go...' I hope that the presenter stays in the room but sometimes I doubt it.
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Will somebody PLEASE ask Brown why fighting the Teliban will make our streets safer when its Al Quaida that are bombing our streets!
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And not an easy question to answer, for while Labour were claiming to be fighting terrorism in Afghanistan they were letting people into the country with few checks, worse opening up another flank to terrorism by allowing a large Somali community to establish themselves here whist that country has become an Al Queada jihadi training ground
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You wouldn't believe Brown was married to a PR, would you? Of course, this has everything to do with The Sun's Tory agenda and their self-styled pose as 'the paper that supports our boys'. Mrs Janes has allowed herself to be used as a political pawn - I hope for her sake that she's a Tory. It's the War of Jennifer's Ear all over again, for those with long enough memory to remember. I wonder how much she was paid for details of the letter and then - shamefully - for allowing The Sun have access to a recording of a private telephone conversation.
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I buy the Sun cos it's cheap - I am going to stop and pay a little extra for another because I can't believe how petty they have been in this instance. Probably in the name of profit. Whatever your politics, Gordon Brown is a good man.
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Enough !! i am no Brown fan, but this is ridiculous... It's just like the end of Major.
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This is a reflection on the Sun newspaper. They exploit the grief and anger that Mrs Janes feels at her loss, then they put her in an even more vulnerable position by publishing a bullying attack on Brown, only to find (by the look of these blogs) that the general public see through this nastiness and side (reluctantly) with the P.M. Shame on them.
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Yes, he made an error but he is only human and he does have problems with his eyesight. The fact is that he took the time to handwrite a letter of condolence instead of just signing a generic one. What they should have in place is an aide to check stuff like this before it gets sent out. The Sun are blowing a small matter out of all proportion in their mission to beat Brown with any stick they can get hold of. I'm no fan of his policies and ethos but the amount of stick he's getting from the Sun over one mistake (and let's be honest, we all make them) is ridiculous.
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How disgusting to berate a man who's blind in one eye for his handwriting.
There's been a general decline in handwriting the more computers take over our lives.
Still, the mother in question managed to sell her story to a tabloid, so well done to her. I take it the cheque was signed legibly enough to her satisfaction.
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I think that the criticism of the Prime Minister by the Sun newspaper was over the top, although I do understand that the poor mother of the fallen soldier must be distraught.
However, I do not recall the BBC ever running a campaign along the lines of 'Is it time to give John Major a break'.
I know the BBC is sensitive to attacks on Gordon Brown. I just wish it could show balance and be less biased.
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It's an unfortunate mistake. Sadly, worse things will happen for many more people, though that is not to diminish the anguish of this parent. However, we need to keep these things in context.
What worries me more is that the majority of the media are so obsessed with pursuing their own agenda, it's difficult to know where we can get news from these days. That is why this has be raised out of all proportion to other events in the world.
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I don't think that a newspaper owned by a foreign millionaire should have the power to call a snap election, which is what they're trying to do.
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Four points:
1: Anger is a recognised component of bereavement. Balanced reporting should make reference to this.
2: The Sun is clearly out to make use of this to vilify Gordon Brown, in the words of their own editor, "If Gordon Brown had remembered to say sorry (on the telephone call), there would not be a story. Why not? Why isn't the pm taking the time to make a personal apology considered to be News.
3: Throughout the Falkland war Margaret Thatcher used John Knox as her spokesperson. This current view that it must be the Prime Minister his/her self who comments on every issue is a creation of Cameron and his chums that the medis, including the bbc, have taken up.
Does no-one care about 'National Security' any more, of corse there will always be issues the PM can not discuss in a public arena.
4: The BBC is failing in its duty to provide impartial reporting every time it repeats the Cameron/Murdoch created myth that "NO ONE is listening to Gordon Brown any more. SOME people will have stopped listening to Gordon Brown, just as SOME people will have stopped listening to Cameron now they finaly know what some of his policies might be. That is not news, it has been a component of politics since democracy was invented.
Brian
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Venom de Plume, I don't believe there is a disability in having one eye when writing.
And I don't believe the mother has received anything from the Sun.
Are we seeing a bit of labour spin and dirty tactics with their attempt use his disability and dark suggestions that the mother was paid?
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no sun reporter but they gave a blackberry no doubt to record the conversation.
no money directly but they gave a tribute on page 5.
"Will somebody PLEASE ask Brown why fighting the Teliban will make our streets safer when its Al Quaida that are bombing our streets!"
were fighting taliban becasue there are $15 trillion dollars of gas to be had from turkmenistan - uzbekistan.
we are going to fight the al qaeda in paksitan (thats why we get all of this conflating of aghans-pakistan recently) because we need access to balochistans sea ports and access to china via nwfp.
it has little to do with terrorism in reality but a lot to do with big business and regional power.
dont expect the 'free press' to report anything close to the truth any time soon.
thats is dont holkd your breath.
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would this have been reported in this way by another paper?
it only made p7 of the guardian... political leanings of the paper an issue... surely not.
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The despicable exploitation of the poor grieving Mother takes the ever grubby Sun newspaper to new depths of cynicism. This poor woman cannot see how the Sun is taking away all her dignity by pursuing an utterly hateful campaign against Gordon Brown. The Sun is entitled to voice their opposition to the Labour party but this has nothing to do with politics this is just spiteful.
Terry Casey
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This is the gutter press and personality politics in full flow.
Firstly, there is only one general criticism that should be levelled again Mr Brown which is that he, along with all the main architects of 'New' Labour like Kinnock, Mandelson, Straw, Blunkett, Clarke, etc built their political careers on the left only to cave in when the prospect of winning power loomed back in 1997. Everything that happens to them and their actions especially Mr Brown as PM stems from and is influenced by this capitulation and servility and this crass episode exemplifies this to the core!
No doubt under normal circumstances Mrs Janes would be grieving over the loss of her son rather than worrying about the Prime Minister's spelling!
Albeit she has obvious grievances against the government over equipment and why our forces are in Afghanistan her anguish and trauma has clearly been exploited by The Sun whose ultimate intention is to score maximum political points against a pathetic right wing Labour government in its last throes!
New Labour henchman Charlie Whelan said that he's surprised the BBC is following the Sun's agenda and for once he's right! Nicky Campbell retorted that the BBC had no agenda and was merely reflecting the opinions of listeners messages and general correspondence the show was receiving. Yet BBC News has been screaming about this since yesterday when the story broke and would have run it as a leading item if it hadn't been the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall! As it's monopolised todays news is it little wonder your organisation is receiving a high volume of texts and emails on the subject.
However incompetent the politicians are they should refrain from apologising to parents or relatives of troops killed in action especially when they are running out of ideas on how to defend the campaign in Afghanistan! They should get on and deal with the politics but that's the problem...all the mainstream parties agree with each other.
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"Is it time to give Gordon a break?"
Not until after the General Election. Until then the man doesn't have the right to lord it over us IMO.
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The mother had the letter and she involved the Sun. Her friend was with her when the PM phoned, she recorded the call. I don't see how the Sun is complicit in setting this up, all they have done is use it to effect. All we see is a bumbling man choosing, just like Youtube, the wrong way of saying sorry. He and his PR wife should have made time to see Mrs Janes privately and to apologise there for the ineptness of his letter.
Many people may be sickened by the Sun, I just get the same bad feeling when Whelan or any of the other Brown oppos such as Macbride or Draper climb out of the dustbin.
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Its time 5 Live Breakfast stopped acting like a tabloid newspaper and copying the Sun's vendetta against Gordon Brown. A shame on the show for exploiting a Mother's grief. Not sure I will continue to listen to the show if the standard continues to be as poor as it was today. Apalled that you broadcast the recording of the phone call. Very very poor !
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Bengeo wrote:
This is a reflection on the Sun newspaper. They exploit the grief and anger that Mrs Janes feels at her loss, then they put her in an even more vulnerable position by publishing a bullying attack on Brown, only to find (by the look of these blogs) that the general public see through this nastiness and side (reluctantly) with the P.M. Shame on them.
I agree old bean - The "but" is, who informed the aforementioned rag ? Errr.....You may not be able to read a doctor's handwriting and prescription, but you'll notice his bills are neatly typewritten.”The great Earl Wilson.
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I don't think that a newspaper owned by a foreign millionaire should have the power to call a snap election, which is what they're trying to do.
-------------------------------------------------------------
I'm sure you were just as annoyed when The S*N back Labour in 97, 01 and 05
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I think that the BBC is doing sterling work acting as a counterweight to The Sun. Whether the BBC manage to keep Brown in office is doubtful, but they are past masters in the dark art of pro Labour spin and will always win in the propaganda battle not least because The Sun is as subtle as a mallet.
They have spent a whole day defending the Prime Minister. They were not moved to do this when John Major was being personally attacked a few years ago. This may have been because some of the attacks were from the BBC itself.
The spinning of the unemployment rate, suppressing/relegation of news stories (such as unelected Mr Mandelson’s bid to appear in the House of Commons), the BBC’s insistence that we are coming out of the recession are symptoms of far more subtle support for Labour than the Sun could ever achieve for the Conservatives.
I wish we had one place we could go to for unfettered, unmolested facts.
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The BBC allows YOU a voice, Kenneth. It can't be that left wing.
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32. Cheapjack
"...The BBC allows YOU a voice, Kenneth. It can't be that left wing..."
It is subtle. The anonymous supportive comment included with 'live PMQs' mobile coverage and the Lisbon Treaty regularly tagged as "making decision making more efficient" being examples.
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Richard,
Yes, I think that it is a good time to give
Gordon Brown a break...
=Dennis Junior=
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#34 Dennis Junior ....Excellent post. Perfectly summed it up.
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