We need to know if our elected representatives receive gifts, so we can make an informed judgement as to whose interests they are serving – ours or their financial donor’s.
So, the public absolutely needs to know about the large sums of money given to Nigel Farage by Christopher Harborne and George Cottrell.
Credit to the Guardian and Sunday Times for digging up and publishing this information.
Farage talks about an “establishment hit job” and says he is considering legal action against the Sunday Times. That looks like an attempt to discourage further investigation and I suspect will come to nothing.
The US president has indicated his support for Farage. On his Truth Social platform, he shared a link to an article titled, “They’re Running the 2024 Anti-Trump Playbook on Nigel Farage”.
Talk of hit jobs and playbooks are distractions. Rather than attacking journalists for doing what journalists are supposed to do and from which society benefits, he should address the substance of the allegations against him.
The question is, were the donations properly declared?
In the upcoming July / August issue of InPublishing magazine (not on the mailing list? Register here), we publish an interview with Guardian political editor Pippa Crerar. In it, she says, “you live or die as a political journalist by your relationships.”
If journalists managed to work their establishment contacts to get the story, then good luck to them. The issue is not how they got the story, but whether the story is true.
Finally, I’m very sad to report that Paul Connew, who wrote regularly for us about press coverage of the political scene passed away last Friday after a short illness, aged 79. His articles were invariably insightful, well-researched and revealing. From his long career in the media, his contacts list was extensive and he always seemed to have the inside track on the big stories of the day. He certainly would have relished commenting on media coverage of the Farage resignation and the upcoming Clacton by-election. We will miss his fortnightly round-ups.
You can catch James Evelegh’s regular column in the InPubWeekly newsletter, which you can register to receive here.
