Monday, April 13, 2009

What Did Kevin Maguire Know?

We keep being told the McBride/Draper emails were never meant to see the light of day. Bollocks. I couldn't mention this before, but since Nadine Dorries has talked about it on TV this morning, I now can.

Some time ago I received a tearful phone call from Nadine. She had just been rung by a leading political editor who put two horrendous allegations to her. It is now clear where he got the tip-off from. The RedRag website may not have physically existed, but its content was being maliciously spread around by its putative creators. Nadine thinks that the site was planned because the newspapers wouldn't run the stories. I strongly suspect that the allegations relating to Osborne and Cameron had been doing the rounds too.

The role of Kevin Maguire, the Mirror's Associate Editor, is very interesting. It appears that he was not only copied some of the emails but was fully aware of the allegations being touted around. Guido has some tough questions to for him to answer. Maguire used to be a top journalist. Now he's just a patsy for the Labour dirty tricks machine. His blogpost yesterday is laughable. He must have been pissed when he wrote it, having vacated his millionaire mansion in Kingston to spend the Easter weekend slumming it in the north. This is his payoff line...
Just what is the truth of Cameron's alleged embarrassing complaint of a highly personal nature? I, like the drinkers in the Steamboat, Alum and Riverside, would like to know.

So far 157 comments have been left by people who regard that question as disgusting. The fact is that Maguire knows exactly what the nature of the allegation is because he was involved in the McBride/Whelan/Draper conspiracy. Over to Guido...

Funny thing is, Maguire could have had the front page scoop himself. After all - despite today’s disingenuous spin from Liam Byrne* that this was a private matter between only Damian and Derek - Maguire was very much in the know. He could have had the scoop about “Red Rag” himself, months ago. Guido has been calling Maguire all evening to ask him why he didn’t run the scoop himself, or why didn’t he advise his mate Damian against the whole idea? What a scoop Kevin could have there, eh?

Strangely Kev isn’t taking calls from Guido or any of his Lobby friends. When Guido texted our Kev a few questions, someone else called back claiming that he had a missed call from Guido. James Lyons, Kevin’s Mirror mate was the caller. Odd.

Still, no doubt some of Kevin’s fellow Lobby journalists, ruthless investigators that they are, will get the facts from Maguire. When did he know? What did he know? Isn’t that what proper journalists are supposed to ask?

A good question. Maguire normally does the Sky News Paper review on Mondays. Let's hope Steve Dixon and Andrew Pierce skewer him tonight.

43 comments:

Granny Catchpole says... said...

No harm in cashing in on others misfortunes DT does it all the time it’s what the news media is all about.

Stephen Pound says Guido is laughing all the way to the bank - actually Guido gave the story to the News of the World and the Sunday Times for pleasure not profit.

DT reports…Days later, Mr Staines appeared to have his proof. He contacted me at The Daily Telegraph to say that he had evidence that Downing Street was smearing top Conservatives.

I met with Mr Staines, and was shown the crucial email sent by Mr McBride on Jan 13. Mr Staines made clear he was offering the emails to another newspaper, and wanted a fee if The Daily Telegraph would like to use them. He mentioned a fee of £20,000.

The Daily Telegraph decided against entering into any agreement to pay Mr Staines to publish the contents of the emails.

Is the DT lying or is Guido spinning half truths?

Plato said...

Maguire 'copied in' - oh dear.

I see that the Times referred to 'some' emails not two emails regarding Mr Watson.

The jumper is unravelling

Cynic said...

Interesting quote in Guardian today from a "Senior Labour Figure"

"Damian McBride and his cohorts belong to Gordon's past and not his future. They are not fit to serve any prime minister "

So, if we take this as true, what exactly made them fit for use in the earlier stages of his career? What role did they play in elevating Gordon to the PMs post and why was that sort of conduct acceptable for him as Chancellor climbing the greasy pole within the party?

And what does this seem to say about the the culture the PM has allegedly created in No 10?

Span Ows said...

Indeed...more fun to ensue!

Great timing by Guido as well...

Martin S said...

Spreading the word on Draper and co...

Professor Dylan Jones-Evans said...

With Tom Watson now complaining that he wasn’t copied in on the emails in question and Kevin Maguire apparently had been, the real question is how many of those in No 10 Downing Street were blind copied, given this is normal practice when you want to inform a wider circle.

A detailed Freedom of Information request on the original McBride emails would reveal this. Imagine the following

Bcc: Gordon.Brown@number10.gov.uk

We wish.....

strapworld said...

Iain, Having seen what Andrew Pierce wrote about Guido on Saturday and again on the BBC yesterday, I doubt if that man, who it has been proved is yet another tool of the government, could legitimately ask Maguire anything!

Maguire is a man who has been over promoted and should go back to Hartlepool and write on the local paper on births deaths and fetes!

As for Granny Catchpole, is this a bit late from the DT? They have lost so much credibility over the last two days.

Perhaps he may wish to reply, on this blog please, to Guido's specific allegations.

Why did he/they breach a confidence? Why did he/they inform Downing Street of the full story?
Why did he/they ignore the signed agreement? plus other criticisms by Guido!

What proof can you offer about the £20.000 charge?

Will the DT print the letters sent to them about this issue and use them to respond FULLY. as we readers of a once proud newspaper require answers.

My Telegraph has just arrived. Will this be the last one in my household?

Granny Catchpole I, and I suspect many readers, await your FULL response!

golden_balls said...

One question for ian and guido
is the hacking of someones email account acceptable ?

i've read the emails concerned and they are disgusting but they were private emails.Whether anything more was going to be done probably will never be known.

mcbride has gone draper should be distanced from the labour party.

I do believe that ian guido and the rest of the conservative bloggers have opened a can of worms they may regret opening.

Its now legitimate to hack someones emails and publish them on the internet.

LOL from Planet Mad! said...

Good article in DT today; the denials of possible extension of the story are already in. But the hanging chad of more emails...squirm away in the Cabinet room Byrne and Watson. There is no possibility that GB is not in on this poisonous brew manufacture.

javelin said...

The lobby have a lot to answer for. They have been meek and have let down the public. They in a position of privilege and the cost of that is to serve the public. The lobby (specifically the BBC, Guardian, Mirror) have all failed to fullfill their obligations to the public.

The BBC news arm should be smashed into smaller more accountable units. The way things stand the BBC news can pump out left wing propganda in the main stream then point at one or two small outlets for a balanced opinion. Smash the BBC news they have brought this filth down on us.

peter said...

Javelin - you single out the BBC and Guardian but in my view the real culprits are the DT and the Mail both of who consistently write pieces favourable to Brown and are to put it kindly lukewarm towards Cameron. The Guardian treats Cameron with far greater fairness than ever the DT and Mail do.If Cameron make a speech they will give it earlier and geater prominence than either the DT or Mail. I think it looks as though they did not sell themeselves to McBride for the chance of a few scoops unlike the DT and Mail. Why for example did the DT feel it necessary to tip off Downing Street about this sordid matter. I'm afraid it raises the question "just how many Journo's have prostituted themselves to McBride"

strapworld said...

Golden Balls, May I suggest a call to your lawyer first thing in the morning.

Electronic messages are NOT private if they contain Libellous statements.

Remember that ALL emails are now kept, so they, again, can never be considered Private!

If you wish privacy, may I suggest a pen and paper and the old fashioned postal services!

Or buy a pigeon!

Or, if the person you wish to onverse with you lives locally a two way radio.?Bow and Arrow.

But, please, wake up to facts!

Your NW3 Councillors said...

So Liam BYrne has gone on the record officially denying anybody other than Draper and McBride were in on the "Red Rag". So when we uncover that people like Whelan, Watson and MAguire were also in on it, will Byrne be forced to fall on his own sword?

It's never the crime, it's the cover-up. These people have learned nothing from Nixon...

Anonymous said...

Golden Balls posted:

“One question for ian and guido
is the hacking of someones email account acceptable?

…Its now legitimate to hack someones emails and publish them on the internet.”

What a foolish assertion. The only evidence for the email hacking consists of repeated statements by the discredited Draper — someone who cannot stop telling lies.

Richard Havers said...

Pierce was not at his best on BBC Breakfast on Sunday when he suggested that someone was trying to sell the McBride emails to the papers.

Cynic said...

And on the hacking issue there were FOI requests in asking for copies of the emails. They would have had to be released anyway

Martin S said...

Golden Balls: Here is a lesson on how not to have nasty, vile, evil e-mails out in the public domain: Do not copy them to someone who would be likely to be so disgusted that they might be tempted to put them in the public domain.

It really is that simple.

THAT is what happened, Derek Draper's e-mail account was almost certainly not broken into.

tory boys never grow up said...

Why do you think that there is a need to put questions to Maguire - to which you have already provided the answers - or would they just be unsubstantiated smears?

Unknown said...

golden balls: There is NO evidence that ANY email accounts were hacked. Stop listening to that slaphead backbench lobby fodder Stephen Pound. The idiot doesn't even know what the internet is.

Unknown said...

Stephen Nolan on Radio 5 defending Brown. I expect the BBC to wheel out all the usual left wing creeps to defend McNokia.

Weygand said...

The shameless DT should check its own moral compass.

Today the lead states "McBride left his job as special adviser to Mr Brown on Saturday after the DT disclosed the existence of emails outlining the smears".

This gives the impression that the DT story was instrumental in McBrides' departure, whereas the article actually appears to have been inspired by McBride himself in attempt to save his bacon.

An enquiry is needed into exactly what was the provenance of the Saturday article and why it pretended that the real issue was a private spat between Dolly and Guido rather than the actual wrongdoing and why it subtly smeared Guido (with reference to his drink driving ban and quotations of being 'a nihilist' and 'preposterous').

kinglear said...

Goldenballs - it is much more likely that someone who McBride, Draper or whoever had done down decided to get their own back - and quite right too.
And as for " never meant to see the light of day" as Iain says - Bolloks. Nadine is all over the meedja saying she was asked about the allegations in connection with herself months ago.
WV= toste

golden_balls said...

other than hacking how else have the emails got in staines grubby hands ?

I have already said that since reading the emails i have changed my views.

i do think mcbride should have gone and much sooner than he did. Draper should be distanced but the labourlist is a good counterbalance
for all the tory blogs.

@strapworld

I'm not sure what the libel laws are so i can't disagree with what you say.

But would anyone like personal emails to be published i for one wouldn't !

if anyone would please post username and password and we can all have a look. any offers ian guido ???

strapworld said...

Granny Catchpole..One and a half hours and no reply. Just what are we loyal Telegraph readers to make of that?

Marian said...

There is something rotten at the core of the Labour party that is eating it away and it is called New Labour. Under Blair and Brown, the Labour Party has become solely about the pursuit and retention of power. In its desperation to retain power New Labour has routinely indulged in politics that are so dirty, smear filled, personalised, and negative, that they have reached a new low in UK politics. Its agent provocateurs are brutal, malevolent, mendacious and extremely unpleasant. Some infest these blog posts. One man is more responsible than most - Gordon Brown.

In the much-vaunted 'court of public opinion', the verdict is that Brown's is a government which has lost all direction or semblance of coherence. It is pitifully, woefully, even dangerously out of its depth. It is devoid of ideas, denuded of principle, absent even of endearing personalities. Here in Scotland, it has long since ceased to be a Labour party and is now simply the anti-SNP party, infected with the canker-ridden sourness of temper tantrums that flow from someone having ‘stolen’ their sweetie.

Unknown said...

I do not understand, if the government (Gordon Brown) is to be believed, then why did they accept Damian McBride resignation, should he not have been dismissed? The fact that he has not been dismissed suggests that he was operating within the framework set by his employer.

Chris Paul said...

Don't think it's clear where the tea room gossip and indeed attempted story tips re Nadine came from.

John Torode suggested that these things had been doing the rounds for yonks, even before mid-January.

There are two explanations at least:

1. As Torode says (most of) these things were already in the system whether from McBride or otherwise;

or

2. As Dale says McBride made all these up from scratch.

These cannot both be true. I think Nadine must be mad to have outed herself. She would probably not have been named if she had not done so.

I also note that several of the rumours on what was in these emails have still not been repeated by any serious media.

Granny Catchpole says... said...

strapworld..

Give it time.

Old Media needs to wring it's hands, make a few calls consult the stars and runes.

Guido on the other hand is celebrating his birthday so he will be well pissed by now so no hope of a response till Tues lunchtime.

Michele said...

Chris - I don't think you get it - the blogsphere is now the serious media.

When mainstream journalists are so gutless and corrupt that they have abbrogated their responsibilities to the like of Ian and Guido - I don't think they are in any shape to complain about bloggers.

And Chris, as an arrant apologist for one of the most disgraceful examples of Lord Acton's dictum - surely you cannot be expected to be taken seriously

Anonymous said...

Deluded fool obviously drinks in the wrong pubs and reads the wrong blogs around here.

Conand said...

It's a shame about Kevin Maguire really. I always find him an engaging character, except when he launches into psychotic rants about toffs.
When he really goes off on one it feels like watching somebody ask Corporal Hitler about Judaism in 1923.
Maguire was at one time a good journalist. That's all been lost years ago amid the stench of the 'Save Gordon' campaign.

Dr Evil said...

Most of the comments left on Maguire's blog were very critical and totally unsupportive of the bollocks he was spouting.

I had a discussion about politics in the pub with a few friends on Friday evening (dangerous of course as in religion and politics).......to a man everyone was villifying the government and the senior Labour pols in particular. The anger they fely was palpable. Statistically irrelevant of course, but interesting. Bit of a Hannanesque moment really.

Anonymous said...

golden_balls said...
One question for ian and guido
is the hacking of someones email account acceptable ?
........
Its now legitimate to hack someones emails and publish them on the internet.


The Government have made it legal for them to read any and every email. That is the reason for Guido's timing.

"Theredrag.co.uk" site exists, but has no content. If the emails were just banter, there would be no redrag site, would there? Someone has paid (and spent the time and effort arranging) for the hosting and for the domain name - it would be nice to find out who that was.

Jess The Dog said...

Was Maguire in the "Red Rag" loop, or was he briefed through separate channels - a wider McPoison black propaganda operation, perhaps drawing in other spinners?

Remember, McPoison's emails are public property - they would require to be disclosed under FOI laws. Can I foresee a deluge of FOI requests to Downing Street requesting disclosure of McPoison's email records? It's a criminal offence to destroy documents subject to FOI....

Jimmy said...

"Mr Staines made clear he was offering the emails to another newspaper, and wanted a fee if The Daily Telegraph would like to use them. He mentioned a fee of £20,000."

This cannot possibly be true. It has been made abundantly clear on this site and elsewhere that Mr. Stain is in fact a saintly individual, motivated only by outrage at the thought of the internet being used to spread scurrilous gossip about Britain's hard working public servants.

Paul Halsall said...

Staines needs to sue the DT now!

Then we can all read Private Eye to work out what really happened.

Anonymous said...

Steve Dixon could nor skewer a defenceless paper bag. useless.

pierce does get some digs in but he needs to be much more nasty.

Maguire last time I heard him was just laughing off the economic situation - just a bit more debt, no worry was his attitude.
He NEEDS to be skewered - he is just a Labour toady, not a serious journalist at all.

WV + 'string' as in give Gordon Brown enough of it.

BTW - good of Labour to run an operation which has given you and Guido vast acres of publicity you could not pay to get. It has the ham fisted too clever by half fingerprints of Brown written all over it. When that man has an idea be worried very worried. When will Labour wake up?? Lets hope never.

David said...

One question for ian and guido
is the hacking of someones email account acceptable ?

Golden balls: the suggestion is actually that someone at UNITE might have printed them off or emailed copies to guido because they were disgusted at Drape/McBride's plans. Draper keeps screaming 'hacked' and threatening lawyers/police yet has not done so. Why?

PS Tom Watson isn't allowing comments that ask his views on smeargate to get through on his blog! Mine didn't make it and it was awiting moderation for three days!

Yak40 said...

“One question for ian and guido
is the hacking of someones email account acceptable?


All this blather about "hacking" emails; just how do you do that anyway ? When I was a server admin you couldn't see anything in the messages themselves.

Smokescreen. Labour again caught showing what filth they really are, it's what they do best.

Anonymous said...

"Draper should be distanced but the labourlist is a good counterbalance for all the tory blogs."
The point is that labourlist is not independent. Staines will have a go at anybody in power.
ConHome is not a shadow cabinet mouthpiece.
Dale does not get his instructions from anybody.

Labour list is a front for the labour party.

Dorris' name was in the blogoshere so she was already outed - and as labour are always saying what has she to fear if she is innocent.
Its up to her - because the standard defence is to smear the litigant - but I would sue.

Andy said...

Yet again, your posts lead me to have real concerns about the calibre of our MPs. You have this post - http://iaindale.blogspot.com/2009/04/defending-nadine-from-brute.html where you have to stand up for poor defenceless Nadine when a big man is nasty to her. Now she is ringing up a blogger in tears because big boys are gossiping about her.
Jesus wept...can you imagine Thatcher, Bottomley, or Currie doing this?

Iain Dale said...

Andy, nice to know you seem to approve of bullying women.

Andy said...

Yeah that's right Iain, you've got me there? Why make such a childish response. You expect that on Donal's blog but not here.
My question was whether Nadine is able to handle the rough and tumble of front line politics if she goes crying to bloggers and can't stand up for herself against a bloated old fart from the Independent. Well...is she?