Londoner’s Diary
In the murky world of Westminster politics, dirty tricks abound. But most politicos have the good sense not to brag about their malfeasance on X. Not so Garvan Walshe, former Tory spinner turned comms guru, who blabbed about below the belt tactics yesterday evening.
Responding to an investigation into Russian disinformation campaigns, Walshe wrote: “We used to do this at Conservative HQ.”
Walshe explained how his team would plant “nonsense” stories in friendly newspapers, and then encourage an MP to raise said story in parliament. The story would then be circulated further as an issue “raised in parliament”.
Taking the Daily Express as an example, Walshe wrote: “We would ask the Daily Express to print something unsubtantiated then get an MP to tell Parliament “I read in the Express that X”, and then pitch to the other papers that “Parliament was told X”.
“I’m sure Labour did the same thing,” he added.
We used to do this at Conservative HQ. We would ask the Daily Express to print something unsubtantiated* then get an MP to tell Parliament “I read in the Express that X”, and then pitch to the other papers that “Parliament was told X”
— Garvan Walshe (@garvanwalshe) April 8, 2024
I’m sure Labour** did the same thing… https://t.co/UcxwyLe1HH
Labour’s former chief spinner Alastair Campbell, who now presents himself as a squeaky clean eminence grise of centre-Left politics, feigned outrage at Walshe’s admission. He characterised the tactics, and the papers who indulged them, as “a big part of the reason our politics and therefore our country is in such a mess.” As Downing Street director of communications in 2003, Campbell helped to prepare and propagate the Blair government’s case for going to war in Iraq on the basis of claims that were later found to be false.
A spokesperson for Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) told the Londoner that they do not recognise Walshe’s account of the organisation.
Vry fnny
Bravo City AM, for this masterpiece of a front page piss-take. Peter Branner, the chief investment officer of “disemvowelled” investment firm Abrdrn, formerly Standard Life Aberdeen, has been left looking pretty silly after whinging about “corporate bullying” by journalists who have delighted in mocking the company’s too-clever-by-half new name.
