Tip jar

If you like CaB and wish to support it, you can use PayPal or KoFi. Thank you, and I hope you continue to enjoy the site - Neil.

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Support CaB

Recent

Welcome to Cook'd and Bomb'd. Please login or sign up.

March 28, 2024, 09:43:38 AM

Login with username, password and session length

Minister publicly criticises journalist for asking reasonable question

Started by Fambo Number Mive, February 02, 2021, 08:36:51 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

Fambo Number Mive

Equalities minister Kemi Badenoch was asked for her comment by journalist Nadine White on claims she had refused to take part in a cross-party video of Black MPs encouraging take up of the vaccine across Black communities.

Instead of answering the question by email, she took a leaf out of Trump's playbook by sharing the emails from the journalist on Twitter and accusing the journalist of ""sowing distrust" and "undermining" efforts to increase take-up of Covid-19 vaccines".

She gives a reasonable explanation of why she didn't take part, which she could have given by email rather than try to smear the journalist on Twitter.

Another leaf out of the Trump playbook and another example of this petulant, arrogant shitstain of a government trying to divide the population and shoot the messenger.  Badinoch should publicly apologise to the journalist and resign.

Lots of Tories on Twitter backing Badinoch, calling the media divisive. After reading A Quiet Word: Lobbying, Crony Capitalism and Broken Politics in Britain, I do wonder if some lobbying organisation is involved in trying to create some kind of astroturfing support for the government. Or are many people on Twitter just that stupid?

It's also sinister that Number Ten are backing Badinoch, clearly trying to scare journalists into not criticising the government

QuoteQuizzed over Badenoch's actions, Allegra Stratton, Boris Johnson's press secretary, said Badenoch had "been civil to Nadine White".

Stratton was unable to guarantee that other journalists who send routine emails to departments would not see them publicised via Twitter, saying only that Downing Street did not object to media questions. "You know you can always come to Downing Street and we will treat your questions and your challenges, as we are doing now, as fair, and we will always try to get back to you, and give you decent answers."...

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/feb/01/no-10-defends-minister-criticised-huffpo-journalist-twitter-kemi-badenoch

The NUJ have rightly condemed Badenoch:

QuoteMichelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary, said:

"Instead of condemning the unacceptable and uncalled for pillorying of a journalist simply doing her job, Number 10 has today dug in and defended a minister who should know better. Putting in questions to elected representatives is pretty standard journalistic practice and the response from Kemi Badenoch was frankly weird, completely out of order and an abuse of her privilege. As a result, Nadine has had to contend with a barrage of online and offline abuse and hostility.
"Elected representatives should be working to boost standards of public discourse, not indulging in petty outbursts that deepen hostility towards journalists and journalism."
https://www.nuj.org.uk/news/nuj-condemns-online-and-offline-abuse-of-nadine-white/
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/number-10-defends-minister-branding-23422623
https://twitter.com/KemiBadenoch/status/1355129620467740672
Nadine's editor comments: https://twitter.com/jessbrammar/status/1355143685189627904

Fambo Number Mive

Badenoch's behaviour hacking into a Labour MP's website and replacing it with Conservative propeganda could be described as creepy, as could the government's attempts to smear journalists like something out of Putin's Russia:

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/tory-rising-star-admits-hacking-12326413

A journalist asking a simple question of a minister is not creepy.

I hope Badenoch doesn't get this angry when her constituents write to her. Glad she isn't my MP.