Wednesday, September 01, 2010

Guido Fawkes Should Cease & Desist

I wasn't going to say anything about this for fear of breathing new life into the story, but I can't stay silent any longer. However, I'll keep it brief.

The campaign against William Hague on the Guido Fawkes blog is nothing short of reprehensible. The lies, smears and innuendo are pathetic. So Hague and his assistant shared a room during the election campaign. Wow, what a revelation. What he's effectively saying is that two people of the same sex can't share a room without having rampant sex. Well that maybe Guido's experience but it certainly ain't mine. Unfortunately.

Is this really a journalistic scoop? No. It's nothing of the sort, but it allows the papers to keep the story running for another day. Guido Fawkes is not a homophobe, but the way he is writing about this allows those who think he is homophobic to confirm their own prejudices.

The petty and spiteful vilification of William Hague by bloggers and newspapers who should know better should stop now, before it gets out of hand.

76 comments:

Simon Lewis said...

What!!! What nonsense! Is Guido on another planet!

Martin Curtis said...

Agreed 100%

Martin Curtis said...

Agreed 100%

Old Holborn said...

Millionaires sharing hotel rooms with 25 year olds?

Come on Iain

Anonymous said...

Like you, I find the tone of GF's pieces offensive and childish. However the question as to why this unqualified chap has been given a Government job that can pay up to 67,000 at our expense NEEDS to be answered.

LetUsFaceTheFuture said...

You didn't mind the nasty, personal vilification of Gordon Brown, did you Iain?

golden_balls said...

Why is Hague a special case iain ?

Brown had to endure the " are you taking pills PM" before the last election so why shouldn't Hague be probed. no evidence was ever brought just rumour much like Hague now.

Will Andrew Marr be the first person to ask directly i hope so.

roll on the conference season.

Anonymous said...

I quite agree.

cynicalHighlander said...

Its endemic in UK culture Iain this is an attack on one man why no condemnation on this purpotrated by our national broadcaster against a Nation. Listen to the audience reaction.

http://newsnetscotland.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=530:fury-at-bbcs-anti-scottish-broadcast&catid=6:leisure&Itemid=9

Hairy Arsed Bloke said...

Maybe the question to ask is, "What has Hague done that has irked Guido so much?"

The answer may have nothing to do with the lifting of shirt tails.

Johnny Norfolk said...

Sorry Iain this shows crass misjudgement by Hague. He is a married man and should not be sharing bedrooms with men or women in these circumstances.

Houdini said...

Guido Fawkes blog, such as it is, is now full of idiots and people there just to bask in his own self importance. It failed to be of any consequence some time ago. He runs seedy and unfounded stories to keep his blog and profile in the media and for no other reason. He will probably turn up to squeal about his stat porn and how well his blog is doing, but he isn't and is now an irrelevance, so don't worry about him and his seedy stories and don't give him the oxygen of publicity he craves so much now.

You should use his real name really as hiding behind an anonymous went out the window for him long ago after he was savaged as the third rate hack he is on Newsnight by second rate hacks.

Andrew said...

The article is not all about sharing a room. There are other aspects to it, such as the qualifications of the special advisor in question and for the role he has been appointed to.

This story would be exactly the same had Hague shared a room with a female assistant and then recruited her.

Your strong defence of Hague in this case, who is not homosexual, simply seems to add more qudos to the innuendo that he may be.

Furthermore - how do you normally react when blogggers request that you stop talking about something you feel is important? I thought so - so you see how the strategy employed on this blog this morning will be counter productive.

Guido also mentions in his posts that other journalists have evidence that something inappropriate may be happening but cannot yet go to print. It would be out of character for him to 'resist and desist' this case.

Unknown said...

I agree. The comments threads of almost every topic on GF are full of homosexual innuendo and outright insults.

These are not comments which would be acceptable in normal conversation, so why does he allow them on his site?

Thorpe said...

I agree with your sentiments on the nature of the "campaign". I don't give two hoots whether or not William Hague is or is not homosexual, bisexual or completely straight. There is, I suppose, potential for blackmail of Hague as the Foreign Secretary, but I imagine that the security services are talking with him about avoiding that.

What is the issue, in my opinion, is the rather opaque issue of Special Advisors. It seems risible to suggest that his SpAd has any form of expertise that FO civil servants do not have, so what was the basis for his appointment? It looks like Hague giving a helping hand to someone he knows and likes, so in effect patronage, dispensed without check, and paid for by Taxpayers' money. Continued silence over the issue of SpAds across Government does the Tories no good whatsoever.

The Purpleline said...

Iain- if there is nothing wrong with being Gay why is this causing so much attention.

William should come out and state categorically that he is not homosexual to ensure his wife takes no further punishment.

He should also go to Law to defend his honour and that of his lovely wife who is clearly an innocent.

There is no excuse for public officials and MP's in particular to keep silent over their sexual preference in 2010.

I could not care less what William does as long as he does his job well. Unfortunately he looks on the surface to be struggling, he is not being true to himself, he needs to push more questions on the EU and the power grab it has over the UK.

Maverick Ways said...

Yes, but...

This would be a complete non-story if:
1. Hague hadn't broken the coalition imposed cap on SpAds.
2. Mr. Myers hadn't been smuggled in.
3. If tax payers who pay his salary could be made aware of what his qualifications are for advising on the most complicated and difficult area of government.
4. Mr. Myers hadn't suddenly been elevated from driver to policy maker.
5. Hague hadn't threatened injunctions.

Hague needs to come out now and answer these questions and kill it before it does develop into something more - or worse - keeps rumbling under and re-surfacing on slack news days.

http://fxbites.blogspot.com/2010/08/austin-powers-brother-could-create.html

Salmondnet said...

The problem is not really the hotel room (at least not by itself). The problem is the appointment as a special adviser, on the public payroll, of someone who appears, to put it no more strongly, to have very limited qualifications for that office.

Your own requirements for an assistant are stringent Iain. The Foreign Secretary's seem inexplicably lax.

I really hope Guido has added two and two to make nine, but I can see why he thinks there is an equation.

Unknown said...

Very, very silly post. Your right you should have kept your mouth shut. Would you be so indignant were it a Labour minister rather than a Tory minister, I think not.

Anonymous said...

I can't leave you two boys alone for a second, can I? Do I have to come over there?

Robert said...

This of course is a purely 'professional' relationship. We know how much his spad is being paid.

I notice that Haigh has not been accused of sharing a room with a female spad. That perhaps would have been normal for a government minister.

This is the silly season. Haigh has been very silly apparently sharing a room with this young man. It gives rise to these rumours. What does this say about Haigh's judgement? He then compounds the indescretion by taking him on the payroll.

I think we will be getting a new Foreign Secretary soon.

Raedwald said...

Indeed. My Uncle Oliver often used to enjoy naked wrestling with his groom and regularly shared a bed with various young men whom he was helping from time to time but none of this made him a homosexual; he fathered five children and remained happily married throughout. A fondness for gladiator films and the classical male form is really quite normal amongst red-blooded Englishmen and really nothing out of the ordinary.

People should leave Mr Hague's private life alone.

Autonomous Mind said...

Well, it didn't take long for someone to breeze along and attempt to silence questions about Hague's behaviour by attacking the author, did it Iain?

Hague's appointment of Myers as a SpAd leaves serious question marks about the reasons for it. Does the route to a political career in a role one has no experience of now begin by serving a term as a driver and sharing a twin room with the boss? Anyone can see something here isn't right.

If there was any foundation to the innuendo then it's a different animal to the David Laws story. But it has become a public interest story as our money is being spent on a SpAd with no experience for the role he has been hired into.

It might be inconvenient for Hague and his friends that the story has run in this way, but he has brought it on himself and is answerable to the taxpayer for this.

Until public money was involved it should have been a personal and private matter - albeit one that, if there is any foundation to the innuendo, would signify another hypocritical politician.

RJF said...

Hmm, millionaire 49-year old guy in a fantastic job getting regular sex from a fit 25-year old and not tripping up over three mental screaming children at the breakfast table?

If these rumours are true, this is one envious ageing heterosexual. Hague, you are a lucky lucky man...

Seriously though, he's in the public eye, you can't pick and choose how you are portrayed by the media and the media publish rubbish in vast quantities on a daily basis. Outside North London types, it's a bit of a non-story. William Hague might be gay - shock, horror...

Osama the Nazarene said...

Once again you miss the point Iain. The issue is how is this 25 year old driver qualified to act as a SPaD to the FOREIGN SECRETARY. Surely this deserves some explanation but on the face of it appears as a total lack of judgement. All the other issues are side issues but "Sebastian" does come to mind.

James Chard said...

Guido is basically a complete tool. But he was a complete tool before May as well, and people who lapped it up then can hardly criticise now.

Shibley Rahman said...

The critical thing about innuendo is that it's not defamatory under English law

Hence Kenneth Williams would have been 'done' for defamation etc.

Haven't been following Guido's blog, but I'd be very surprised if people who are Tories, Labour members and Lib Dems are substantially influenced by this, compared to the real issue of the extremely difficult job William Hague has to do.

Best wishes.

Dr Shibley Rahman
Labour Party member
@RecoveryShibley

Anonymous said...

The real story for me is the way that Mr Hague seems have gone limp and wishy-washy on policy - see the DT article on Monday ( http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/conservative/7972463/Human-rights-are-key-to-our-foreign-policy.html ).

First he seems to have ditched tackling the ever-incoming tide of EU interference, and now goes all dewy-eyed over international human rights.

JuliaM said...

As Andrew points out, this is not JUST about the sharing of a room, is it?

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry, Iain, but - like several of your correspondents - I think that you are very wrong on this matter. Guido is merely being characteristically provocative, as a way of getting to the deeper truth. If it were merely a playground smear about Hague's sexual preferences, I would not think that you were being thin-skinned. But it isn't, is it?

It's not about being, or not being, gay; that is, of course, irrelevant. It's about Hague parachuting his underqualified friend into a publicly-funded position, in apparent defiance of the rules that Hague himself agreed - as being emblematic of a bright new, open, honest, frugal and responsible government - with the Liberal Democrats only 4 months ago.

That being said, the hotel room things is odd. I have never willingly shared a room with another man since I left school. On one occasion I was obliged to do so on a business trip, as a result of a Stockholm hotel cock-up (oooh, Matron!), and my colleague and I were ribbed for weeks about it. Now, you may consider the rugger-clubby reaction to be as childish as we did, but that was the way it was regarded. If that leads, as it does, to people asking wider and more penetrating (oooh, Matron!) questions about Hague's behaviour now that he has his hands on the levers, then those questions may be asked and must be answered.

I recently sent two blokes across the country for a week to redecorate my old uncle's house. Not for a second did I contemplate asking them to share a room to save a few quid. I allowed them the freedom and dignity of having rooms to themselves. For a millionaire such as Hague to be too tight (oooh, Matron!) to spill for a separate room for his young, carefree, attractive driver, and then fix him a non-job at our expense in the Foreign Office is odd, and deserves a more fulsome answer than has yet been provided.

We all have so many reasons to be grateful to Guido for his relentless pursuit of hypocrisy and corruption in the Labour government, and for his absolute refusal to be frightened off by Labour's in-house thugs, hangers-on and media apologists. Just because any resultant egg in this case is going to be smeared all over Conservative faces is no reason to try to browbeat him into ignoring it.

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry, Iain, but - like several of your correspondents - I think that you are very wrong on this matter. Guido is merely being characteristically provocative, as a way of getting to the deeper truth.

It's not about being, or not being, gay; that is, of course, irrelevant. It's about Hague parachuting his underqualified friend into a publicly-funded position, in apparent defiance of the rules that Hague himself agreed - as being emblematic of a bright new, open, honest, frugal and responsible government - with the Liberal Democrats only 4 months ago.

That being said, the hotel room thing is odd. I have never willingly shared a room with another man since I left school. On one occasion I was obliged to do so on a business trip, as a result of a Stockholm hotel cock-up (oooh, Matron!), and my colleague and I were ribbed for weeks about it. Now, you may consider the rugger-clubby reaction to be as childish as we did, but that was the way it was regarded. If that leads, as it does, to people asking wider and more penetrating (oooh, Matron!) questions about Hague's behaviour now that he has his hands on the levers, then those questions may be asked and must be answered.

I recently sent two blokes across the country for a week to redecorate my old uncle's house. Not for a second did I contemplate asking them to share a room to save a few quid. I allowed them the freedom and dignity of having rooms to themselves. For a millionaire such as Hague to be too tight (oooh, Matron!) to spill for a separate room for his young, carefree, attractive driver, and then fix him a non-job at our expense in the Foreign Office is odd, and deserves a more fulsome answer than has yet been provided.

We all have many reasons to be grateful to Guido for his relentless pursuit of hypocrisy and corruption in the Labour government, and for his absolute refusal to be frightened off by Labour's in-house thugs, hangers-on and media apologists. Just because any resultant egg in this case is going to be smeared all over Conservative faces is no reason to try to browbeat him into ignoring it.

Anonymous said...

I had to reconstruct me previous post, because my 'identity' blew out when I tried to post. the original was much better!

One thing I forgot to add is that you frequently say yourself, Iain, that your blog is your blog, and it's yours to use as you wish. We don't pay, and we are free to read or not read.

Why does that suddenly not apply to Guido? He has been accurate, often ahead of all other commentators, including the highly-paid mainstream professionals, and the blog is funny (well, apart from the feeble cartoons, anyway). He is not responsible for the nutters, strutters and doughbrains who post their witless, bilious, drivelling comments. He did as much as anybody to hole Labour below the waterline. If the Conservatives don't want the same fate, they'd better behave themselves. There are people far nastier than Guido who are gunning for them, so squeaky clean is the only way to be.

Unknown said...

I disagree with your analysis. I think it is good old homophobia. There is no reason to pick on the dubious qualifications to be a SpAd of this one guy - there are numerous SpAds with dubious qualifications for the positions they hold (being a LibDem ex-MP being one).

Headers such as 'Flashback: Hague's Gay Special Advisor', highlight the homophobic undertones of Fawkes. Can you imagine writing 'Black Special Advisor' or 'Female Special Advisor'? A story based on that over a decade ago he employed an openly gay SpAd. Shock, horror, there were openly gay people in the Tory party a decade ago!

Homophobia is used blatantly and effectively in countries such as Malaysia to undermine political opponents. In Westminster, it seems some still think calling someone gay can undermine their opponents credibility, and am sure would love to get a few of their peers locked up in jail by accusing them of sodomy.

Pam Nash said...

Absolutely astonishing! That anyone still reads Guido Fawkes, I mean. Paul Staines used to have some good stuff on there, but it hit the buffers months ago - either Staines has had a brain transplant, or he's sold the site to someone who has no idea what they're doing.

Unsworth said...

Iain,

I seldom disagree, but I think you've let this get to you. Guido is as he is, and I think that most of his readers probably recognise that he's become particularly repetitive on this subject. That said, Hague's a big boy now and can take whatever measures he wishes - if at all.

You really can't complain about 'the way' Guido writes 'allowing' people to think in a particular way. What would you prefer, that Guido should write in a manner which did not allow people to interpret things as they choose? How could that be done, anyway?

Challenge the facts or the interpretation. You've made your point about sharing of rooms, but there are those who might think the arrangements unusual.

Certainly when I travelled with junior staff I made damn sure that I didn't have to spend the night in the same suite - no matter how large. I might have joined them for dinner or breakfast or in the bar for a few drinks - but I also valued my privacy.

Rebel Saint said...

I haven't read Guido for a couple of months now for the same reason that I don't read Heat magazine.

James Chard said...

Shibley - I'm glad you're a doctor rather than a lawyer! An innuendo is entirely capable of being defamatory if a reasonable reader (neither overly filthy-minded nor hopelessly naive) would draw a particular inference.

So if I were to say of an MP, "while X's wife is dutifully at home in the constituency, X and Miss Y have been working VERY closely together... so closely in fact that neighbours attest she visits his Pimlico flat and they work together all night", all I am actually saying is the MP is hardworking... but there is a fairly obvious and defamatory innuendo that he's having an affair.

richard.blogger said...

I want to see this go much further. Right to the inevitable conclusion.

Not for the effect some people suggest it would have on Hague (his oratory in the House would be sadly missed). No, the reason I want Hague to take action is that I want to see Paul Staines in the dock. He's rather arrogantly said that he is safe from prosecution since he apparently "lives in Ireland" and that his company is registered in the Caribbean, when clearly he has to live in the UK to get the information he does.

I believe that there is one law for everyone and that includes Paul Staines. So let's hope that Hague takes action against him and wipes that arrogant grin off his face. Sadly, I don't think it is likely to happen.

The Grim Reaper said...

You're being quite selective here, Iain. And that's putting it mildly.

I don't recall you publishing a post saying Guido should "cease and desist" when his site got dangerously close to saying Gordon Brown was gay, for example. Neither do I recall you complaining about the "riding a rocking horse whilst wearing a nappy" story. But by the looks of it, you support character assassination when it's done to people on the other side.

Me? I think you either say everyone is fair game or nobody at all is fair game.

Iain Dale said...

It is you who is being selective. I criticised people who spread the mental illness rumours - including - Guido at the time. But you conveniently forget that, don't you?

Anonymous said...

Compromised, blackmailable, only three months into the government.

Expect to see him toe the EU line even more, now.

I'm beginning to figure out why there are so many gays in and around government.

P. Stable said...

It's tricky.

There's certainly some questions to be answered about why Hague is employing yet another spin doctor at the taxpayer's expense when the PM said he would be cutting back on such things. And there are questions to be answered about why he got the job, when he seems to be even less qualified than the average Spad.

Quite rightly the public is suspicious of public figures using public money to employ friends and relations, so if there is something going on it is certainly relevant. If the job had gone to a a 25-year-old female researcher I suspect even more eyebrows would have been raised.

But I totally agree with you that Guido's treatment of the story is at best childish and at worst outright offensive, something he'd no doubt be very pleased with. The idea that two men sharing a room means they MUST be gay is absurd and the sniggering schoolboy tone is just pathetic. As are the "hilarious" Monday Morning cartoons that pollute his blog, which are generally about as funny as discovering that you're adopted and your real father is Michael Gove.

Wrinkled Weasel said...

This would be a non-story if it were not for the fact that the young boy in question has no experience and an average degree, and that a millionaire, married, 45 year old man, with a high public profile would share a bedroom with such a boy, out of choice. Even if it isn't, it looks it.

In reality it is not a "gay" story anyway, its a "something's fishy here" story. The circumstantial evidence points to some kind of impropriety, at least, impropriety over Chris Myer's appointment.

I am afraid its going to run, and it is going to run because somebody is covering something up.

It all depends on whether the MSM have the appetite for it.

Anonymous said...

Fawkes is not a homophobe? You have to be kidding.
Once again you display a niceness which does not serve you well.

Fawke's story and his encouragement of the undoubtedly nasty homophobic comments are an utter disgrace.

Basically the man is an ugly shit. The motives behind his defenestration of Mcbride were totally (and self admittedly) self serving - Mcbride was indeed a nasty piece of work and rubbed Fawkes up the wrong way.
This does not make Fawkes a 'libertarian' - he is a former bankrupt barrow boy trader with a chip on his shoulder. Currently he is reduced to complaining against anybody with the temerity to lobby parliament. He has totally lost his way and the plot.

FX - if every time a bloke went out for a drink with his mate he had to deny being homosexual then the world is a funny place. And if every time a bloke on a boozy holiday shares a room with his mate it made it into the local papers then we are at a pretty pass.

And every time a bloke in summer wears T-shirt sunglasses and a hat he receives smears about his sexuality then I think the smearer should get a kick where it hurts.

Lets just look at this drivel from the Telegraph
'Rumours about their closeness had been swirling around Westminster and the internet after photographs were published showing Mr Hague and Mr Myers walking and laughing together, dressed casually and wearing sunglasses. '
Huh? Just how pathetic is that!!!
Queers wear hats and sunglasses ... Look look there's one!! Lets all spit!

The man in question was appointed in May. He is a graduate in Law and History. He is not unqualified. There is as yet no evidence at all along the likes of Robin Cooke trying to get his mistress appointed to his diary secretary or or Prescott cavorting with his secretary.

Craig Ranapia said...

Millionaires sharing hotel rooms with 25 year olds?

Come on Iain


Back on planet Earth, if the Conservative Party was found to have wasted tens of thousands of pounds in limited campaign funds on hotel rooms, I'm sure you'd be the first person bitching and whinging.

For those of us who have minds that don't reside in the gutter (or someone else's crotch), I've often shared "rooms" (and separate beds) with persons of both genders who are not my partner. Anyone who suggest that I've had improper sexual relations -- let alone committed incest, statutory rape, child molestation or adultery -- with any of them will be hearing from the venerable firm of Sue, Grabbit and Runne.

I'm a huge fan of Guido, but in this case he's totally lost it.

Craig Ranapia said...

Guido Fawkes is not a homophobe, but the way he is writing about this allows those who think he is homophobic to confirm their own prejudices.

That's frightfully generous, Iain, but if Guido doesn't want people to think he's a homophobic jock-sniffer with a rather unhealthy interest in the Foreign Secretary's knob he shouldn't write like he's auditioning for the Daily Mail. That simple.

Brian said...

Sharing a bed never did Morecambe and Wise any harm, but then they were paid to make people laugh not persuade bigoted Africans and Muslims to accept our points of view on the world stage.

Richard said...

Sorry Iain, on this you are completely wrong. If you think Hague's behaviour is acceptable then your standards have slipped way down. I'm a great fan of Hague - his wit, intelligence and writing. In my opinion he's brilliant. But that doesn't absolve him from having to behave properly. The Foreign Secretary sharing a room with his driver (male or female) is not acceptable. On this, Guido Fawkes is on the side of morality. You are not.

Anonymous said...

Some on here are claiming you cannot share a room with someone of the same sex. Why not? To save on costs a good male friend of mine have shared rooms at Labour conferences for years, and we are both happily married (to women).

Also, so what if William Hague does turn out to be homosexual. Unless he has been politically hypocritical about it what should it matter?

Guido is vile, and most of those who comment on his blog are worse.

Tim said...

Hypocrite.

Danny Law said...

i echo what some others have said in the comments

why does a millionaire government minister share a room with his driver when everyone else in his group gets a room on their own.

why is this guy a SpAd anyway - he has precious little qualities to be one.

and its not about being gay - that the usual way to try and shut these rumours up - shout homophobia - its about honesty - if hague is gay - fine. nothing wrong with that - come out and say so and everyone will shrug their shoulders and say so what, its the deception that causes the trouble.

and as the last few days have proved - it would not be unknown for a married MP to be gay but pretend he wasn't. - would it ?

Liz said...

Nothing much to add here other than to say thanks, Iain; you're absolutely right. (I have a sincere belief in the usefulness of SPADS, and both my husband and I, neither of us short of a bob or two, have shared rooms with members of the same sex, some of whom have been gay. The "body language" which Guido mentions with such prurience was interesting for me at breakfast on one of these occasions too. My milk carton had spurted humorously.)

I shall continue to read Guido, that said. I just shan't be clicking on any of his ads.

Anonymous said...

trevorsden @ 12.04

Point of order. Robin Cook conducted a discreet affair with an existing member of his staff. When he was forced, by the egregious Campbell, to make an abrupt choice under pressure between wife and mistress he chose the latter, and subsequently married her. Prescott exercised his repellent droit de seigneur over his existing diary secretary.

Hague appears to have parachuted a friend into a 'government' job, for which there is no need and for which he is singularly unqualified. That's why the questions won't stop.

Jimmy said...

What do you expect Guido to write about? Politics?

scotch said...

I'm not quite sure what you consider a homophobe to be, Iain. Given that you allow space on your blog to people who talk about shirt lifting. Why doesn't that come under your category of "miscreants"?

Unknown said...

Fir the record, I think Iain would have taken the same view if it had been a minister from another party.

I care about William Hague's performance as foreign secretary. End of. And so far he's doing a good job. I like the more direct language that's coming out of this Government on things like Gaza.

This is a complete non story to me & I think it's publication reflects badly on Guido.

Dobson said...

I agree with 1x2 GF is often offensive and childish but I have to also agree with others I have not always been as offended as I should have been when the 'victim' of his blog has been someone that I don't particularly admire.

RonLiddle said...

A 25 year who is cheap, ambitious, intelligent and loyal to his employer and to the party.

Yes, he was probably more than a driver. Perhaps he did act as a confidant and aide during the campaign.

If Hague were indeed planning on indulging in anything other than research and campaign related work in the small hours, he gains nothing by insisting on one room than two. Rooms do have doors.

In addition, I cannot envisage a less romantic setting for an encounter than on a tiring campaign - taking important calls throughout the night, working on speeches and having to be up extremely early for TV appearences. Perhaps requiring the need for someone to help him prepare, in unsociable conditions.

It's extremely poor 'journalism' to break a story before there is any evidence of wrong doing. But then, GF has a history of this.

And why should he not take this man on as his aide? He has experience of working with him, he knows he is willing to spend long hours in the office, that he is keen to learn and will be a great asset in the future. Bear in mind, he will also be a lot cheaper than a more experienced aide.

I'm also quite bored by his Ed Balls bashing - we get the point...

Andrew said...

Iain,

the word 'gay' as used in the context of the Hague story on Guido's site is not homophobic but a signpost to a critical aspect of this story. Is their relationship platonic?

Describing the gentleman as gay informs the readers that there is a potental for intimacy between the two gentlemen. Should intimacy have occoured then that would be key a consideration to determining if the SpAD appointment was in order.

The omission of the word gay from the headline or the story itself, for fear of being considered homophobic, would not be right in this case.

Johnny Norfolk said...

The leader in a baseball cap that drank, was it 16 pints and then shares a room with a youg man. You have to question his judgement if nothing else. Wonder why he is no longer Tory leader then ?

Guy de Ferrer said...

I think that Iain has lost it a little over this.

"there are numerous SpAds with dubious qualifications for the positions they hold"

that's an argument for cleansing the stables, not excusing Hague.

Hague and Myers are receiving public money. We have a right to know why Myers, previously a chauffeur with a second class degree, was given the job. The homophobia of Guido's window lickers is sad but irrelevant. Hague can end all this with a explanation. Or he quits.

Lauchlan McLean said...

Both Staines and Hague have commited errors.Staines for pressing on with a story that is not entirely prooveable and verges on the vindictive.And Hague lacking judgement in allegally sharing a room with a younger man,and then appointing him to a job to which it would appear he lacks the qualifications for.No one at 25 is experienced enough to advise on foreign matters at this level.I was formerly an admirer of Hague and the fact he has got there without an Eton education but feel he has let the country down and will now be a figure of fun throughout the world and in particular in France.

Tonbridge blogger said...

Come on Iain it's at the very least a good story for the tabloids. It isn't that he might be a closet gay but more the possible deceit and betrayal of his wife and family. Top policians should be whiter than white when it comes to honesty, tell everyone the truth and then let the people decide if they like it or not. Enough of this cloak and dagger stuff. What the public hates most is being lied to and mis-led. Personally I wouldn't care at all if he was gay so long as he were open and honest about it. If Ffion doesn't mind an open relationship then that's fine too but tell us about it. Come on Hague it's the modern age, we CAN handle the truth!...

Tonbridge blogger said...

Enough of this cloak and dagger stuff. What the public hates most is being lied to and mis-led. Personally I wouldn't care at all if he was gay so long as he were open and honest about it. If Ffion doesn't mind an open relationship then that's fine too but tell us about it. Come on Hague it's the modern age, we CAN handle the truth!...

Maverick Ways said...

trevorsden:

"if every time a bloke went out for a drink with his mate he had to deny being homosexual then the world is a funny place"

It's not a bloke: it's The Foreign Secretary.
It's not his mate: it's his former driver who is now giving advice on whether we should pull out of Afghanistan.

It's not a "gay" issue.
It's nepotism.
It's bad judgement.
We were promised better than this.

Unknown said...

Iain,

I usually enjoy reading Guido, but he's 100% wrong on this one. The issue of whether Mr. Myers is qualified or suitable for his position is certainly relevant and worthy of being pursued. I take no issue with Guido on that front. But resorting to schoolboy innuendo and suggesting (without actually saying so explicitly, of course) that Hague and Myers are engaged in a gay affair is, in the absence of any evidence whatsoever, petty and inappropriate. Either Guido has proof of what he suggests, or he doesn't. If he has proof, then publish it. If he doesn't he should shut the hell up, frankly.

Craig Ranapia said...

What the public hates most is being lied to and mis-led.

Actually, Tonbridge Blogger, the public seems to hold prostitutes and used car dealers in higher regard than the media. Perhaps what the public hates most of all are arrested adolescents who think their sniggering, adolescent snuffling through other people's underwear is of interest to anyone other than a psychotherapist.

As for the self appointed moralists who don't even have the courage to drop the coy euphemisms and weasel-word, I'll leave you with a piece of advice from a priest of my acquaintance who is no longer with us.

God, in his wisdom, often sees fit to repay those who trade in gossip and malice with their own base coin. If anyone in the squalid affair has shown a lack of moral integrity and good judgement, it's not William Hague.

dud dudley said...

I could not care less about Hagues sexuality but a 25 year old special adviser. But, what is his special knowledge. Where did he get all this special experience and why should I be paying for it.
The justification for his appointment is utter tosh

Unsworth said...

As always, the Conservatives have sex scandals and Labour has money scandals. On balance, money is probably more interesting - and permanent.

Jack c said...

I can't remember a post like this when the squalid and nasty rumours were about Gordon Brown!

Also are you going to remove your link to his blog from your blog like you did with Liberal Conspiracy?

James Chard said...

There is a genuine debate here about the role of SpAds, but it isn't being had precisely because Staines and elements of the press are turning it into an "is Hague gay?" story.

SpAds exist in the murky grey area between impartial civil servants and party hacks. It is undoubtedly the case that both personal and political loyalty to the minister AND understanding of the policy area are important aspects of the job. Personally, I think how that balance is made is properly a matter for the minister and they should be given some leeway. But a decision which almost entirely ignores the latter requirement does call into question the minister's judgement. But that entirely proper debate has simply degenerated into a wholly prurient interest in Hague's sexual preferences.

Wrinkled Weasel said...

Me at 12.01:

"I am afraid its going to run, and it is going to run because somebody is covering something up.

It all depends on whether the MSM have the appetite for it."

yes it did, and yes they do.

Oh look, there is some smoke, and, bugger me, it's attached to a fire.

Anonymous said...

We now learn that Ffion has suffered several miscarriages including one this summer.
We might imagine that this smear could have induced another.

I am more disgusted than ever with that bastard Paul Staines. But especially the c***s who he allows to write their shite on his blog.

And to 'paul' down the comments - yes you are quite right in what you say. But Guido also allows his commentators to do his dirty work for him; commentators who like nothing better than to cuss any who dissent. Tossers.
I find it incredible that in this day and age we can see the media sniggering in this way. What bollocks.

And to lefties I quite agree that the way Fawkes encouraged similar innuendo about Brown was equally rancid. browns character and tantrums as outlined today by Blair is fair comment - but unjustified smears are not.

Unknown said...

Guido is right you stupid twat!

Craig Ranapia said...

@pav: I'm always amused at people who think various vulgar terms for the vagina are the worse insult imaginable. I personally think there are billions of women -- and hetersexual men -- who find the twat contributes more to the health, happiness and general well-being of the human race than Guido Fawkes.

Anonymous said...

Old Holborn - clearly you are not at all assured of your own sexuality if you fear sharing a hotel room with another man.

As my sister said to me today - her son has just returned from a cricket tour where he shared a room. He is married for 10 years but no children (nudge nudge) - Is he gay? Oh he also likes to wear T-shirts and hats and sunglasses.

Well toss pot - please answer. You have laid out your criteria. Now act on it.

Indeed you sad excuse for a man - is it not traditional for footballers and cricketers, famous internationals at that, to share rooms on tour?

Do you actually listen to yourself - you creep?