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Tory bully boy spinners (part 2) – a more sinister tone…

May 29, 2012 9:44 am

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Yesterday I asked why the media are ignoring the bully boy tactics of Tory spinners, especially when they have been so keen to shine their light on unpleasant media practises when Labour spinners have been at fault.

Much of the focus fell on Boris Johnson’s team, but today an article from Johnson biographer Sonia Purnell – entitled “Lust, love and the insinuations Team Boris used to suppress my book” – suggests a more sinister tone to the briefing from Team Boris:

“Indeed, there have been constant insinuations about my motives in writing the book; usually that they were born from lust, love and Boris’s failure to marry me. (The truth is much more boring – someone else suggested it when I badly needed a project after 10 years at home raising two premature babies). This was even put to me as virtual fact on air by a big-name Tory broadcaster on a leading independent radio station. I am told that Team Boris had already started off-the-record briefing sympathetic journalists about my “woman scorned” credentials, clearly some of whom were only too helpful in spreading the false word.“

How very unpleasant. Will Johnson apologise for the behaviour of his minions? Or is this culture allowed to thrive in the modern Tory Party?

Related posts:

  1. Revealed: The Tory Party’s bully boy spinners
  2. Boris – Part-time Mayor?
  3. Tory MEP suggests date rape victim “shares a part of the responsibility”
  4. The Tory right are revolting – part 2
  5. Cheeky Ken pledge puts part-time Mayor on the spot
  • Hugh

    This is a blog founded by Derek Draper, right?

    • http://twitter.com/johnringer John Ringer

      2009 called, it wants its story back.

      • Hugh

         2012 emailed. It wondered what Tom Baldwin still does for a living.

        If it helps, imagine  your reaction reading a Sun editorial decrying gutter journalism.

        • http://twitter.com/johnringer John Ringer

          I think the article makes pretty clear that Labour used bully tactics too. The difference is that the media ignores it when the Tories to it.

          Also, we all know that years cannot use email – I’m calling your bluff.

          • Hugh

             First, it took the press absolutely years to shine the light on Labours’ spinners. Second, since the evidence revealed so far is a very polite, restrained debate between Craig Oliver and a BBC man, a not terribly interesting email by Gutto Harri and complaints from a woman that no one wants to take her book onto the West End, I’d suggest the answer to why this hasn’t received broad press coverage is pretty obvious.

  • charles.ward

    When I clicked on the link above all I found was an advert for her book, can anyone direct me to the actual article?

  • JC

    So not only has Cameron learnt well about how to handle PMQs, the spinners have followed their predecessors as well. Surely this is the behavior that the Labour Party expect and encourage. Why the mock outrage?

  • Winston_from_the_Ministry

    Yeah yeah, I read the guardian this morning too.

  • Clearbell.

    Easy answer to this: someone else should write about Tory spinners. Preferably someone with impeccable credentials and no axe to grind….although that would mean it’d be boring.

  • Billsilver

    Why are you wasting your time here Mark Ferguson?
    Incredulous that Tories have spin-doctors? Really?
    Are you too young to remember Alastair Shambles, Lord Peter Resignations of unloved memory, Damian MacBride the smearer, and Blair the flirter with the truth?
    No mate, you just spend a little time reflecting on the betrayal of the working class by New Labour, the accumulation of massive national debt, and Ed Balls’ pathetic and wrong knee-jerk reactions to errrr almost everything.
    Then write something worth reading – and give it a bit of passion and real sincerity too.

    • Clearbell.

       So you don’t think the fraud sub-prime mortgage, ridiculous financial instruments or the banks being under-capitalised have anything to do with the so-called “recession”?

      • Billsilver

        Read what I wrote, don’t read what I didn’t write.

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