Privacy campaigners and Labour politicians who declare that newspapers deliberately suppressed a narrative about John Whittingdale’s relationship that has a sex worker were today accused of “unbelievable hypocrisy”.
Hacked Off, a bunch that has campaigned against press invasions of privacy, and a number of Labour politicians, have claimed that newspapers sat around the story, making use of it to put pressure around the culture secretary to never impose tough new press regulations.
Mr Whittingdale admitted last week that he ended up being in a relationship while using woman, whom he met within the dating website Match.com, between August 2013 and February 2014. In a statement released to your BBC's Newsnight programme, he said that they had ended the connection when he was notified by the newspaper that they was a sex worker.
Maria Eagle, the shadow culture secretary, requested Mr Whittingdale to withdraw from decisions on press regulation, praoclaiming that doing so would “allay any concerns about perceptions from a undue influence”.
Her comments came after Chris Bryant, who has been previously shadow culture secretary, claimed the press were "quite deliberately holding a sword of Damocles over John Whittingdale". He added: "He incorporates a perfect straight away to a private life but after he knew this he ought to have withdrawn coming from all regulation in the press."
But the pair were immediately countermanded by shadow foreign secretary Hillary Benn, who said: “I do not think frankly which is going to happen. There's no sign which is going to happen. He need to get on and do his job. His private own life is his own affair.”
Liam Fox, the Conservative former defence secretary, accused Labour of “unbelievable hypocrisy”, adding: “The fact papers didn't run story in beginning shows press regulation is working.”
Labour MP Kate Hoey also stated that Hacked Off were hypocrites. She wrote on Twitter: “I thought Hacked Off wanted less press intrusion or perhaps is that exclusively for celebrity actors.”
Unbelievable hypocrisy from @labour on @JWhittingdale. The fact papers didn't run story in beginning shows press regulation is working
— Dr Liam Fox MP (@LiamFoxMP) April 13, 2016
I thought "Hacked Off " wanted less press intrusion or possibly that exclusively for Celebrity actors #hypocrisy
— Kate Hoey (@KateHoeyMP) April 12, 2016
A variety of media experts asserted newspapers could hardly have run the storyline, since it did not satisfy the necessary public interest threshold.
Steve Hewlett, a Guardian columnist who presents The Media Show, on Radio 4, said: “If you adopt at face value what they have said, and the story plot is man meets woman on Match.com, doesn’t know she actually is a prostitute, then when he realizes, stops their bond, it can be hard to find out how you get to a tale with a public interest justification.
“I just don’t go to whichever evidence due to this grand conspiracy that may be being suggested. You just don’t need any one that to spell out his attitude towards press regulation. It was always the way in which he was very likely to go.”
Roy Greenslade, a media commentator who incorporates a Guardian column, said: “It’s quite straightforward; newspapers sensible that they would make an attempt to get a narrative, they have got investigated the story plot and have discovered there isn’t a narrative that they can justify publishing. There are no public interest justifications.”
Bob Satchwell, the executive director from the Society of Editors, said it would be a "preposterous conspiracy theory too far" to mention newspapers and broadcasters "jointly decided not to ever publish" the tale .
"The proven fact that the newspapers and broadcasters could all meet up and say 'we are certainly not running the tale' is merely silly," he explained. "This story is very much more about your schedule of using dating websites.
"In effect 1 man embarrassingly ended a relationship having a single woman after he discovered she wasn't all she were. Since the Leveson report and also the establishment of the new and tougher press regulator, papers are getting to be extremely careful about stories involving anyone in public areas life."
Charlie Beckett, a media professor for the London School of Economics, said: “Ultimately, any suggestion that this newspapers suppressed the storyplot purely in order to avoid more stringent press regulation just doesn't make much political sense. This is a man who may have always been within the record as strongly, ideologically against any statutory dangerous the press.”
Role:
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Constituency:
MP for Maldon
Education:
Studied economics at Winchester College and University College London
Early career
Worked in the Whitehall and also the City, including roles as Special Adviser to your Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and Political Secretary for the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
Key appointments
1992: MP for South Colchester and Maldon
1997: MP for your new constituency of Maldon and East Chelmsford. One year as Opposition Whip
2001: Shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
2002 Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
2005: Chairman in the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee
2015: Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport
"I have for ages been fascinated by politics. When I was 15, I sat up which has a torch beneath the bedclothes listening to your 1974 election results."
- John Whittingdale
Hacked Off, a bunch that has campaigned against press invasions of privacy, and a number of Labour politicians, have claimed that newspapers sat around the story, making use of it to put pressure around the culture secretary to never impose tough new press regulations.
Mr Whittingdale admitted last week that he ended up being in a relationship while using woman, whom he met within the dating website Match.com, between August 2013 and February 2014. In a statement released to your BBC's Newsnight programme, he said that they had ended the connection when he was notified by the newspaper that they was a sex worker.
Maria Eagle, the shadow culture secretary, requested Mr Whittingdale to withdraw from decisions on press regulation, praoclaiming that doing so would “allay any concerns about perceptions from a undue influence”.
Her comments came after Chris Bryant, who has been previously shadow culture secretary, claimed the press were "quite deliberately holding a sword of Damocles over John Whittingdale". He added: "He incorporates a perfect straight away to a private life but after he knew this he ought to have withdrawn coming from all regulation in the press."
But the pair were immediately countermanded by shadow foreign secretary Hillary Benn, who said: “I do not think frankly which is going to happen. There's no sign which is going to happen. He need to get on and do his job. His private own life is his own affair.”
Liam Fox, the Conservative former defence secretary, accused Labour of “unbelievable hypocrisy”, adding: “The fact papers didn't run story in beginning shows press regulation is working.”
Labour MP Kate Hoey also stated that Hacked Off were hypocrites. She wrote on Twitter: “I thought Hacked Off wanted less press intrusion or perhaps is that exclusively for celebrity actors.”
Unbelievable hypocrisy from @labour on @JWhittingdale. The fact papers didn't run story in beginning shows press regulation is working
— Dr Liam Fox MP (@LiamFoxMP) April 13, 2016
I thought "Hacked Off " wanted less press intrusion or possibly that exclusively for Celebrity actors #hypocrisy
— Kate Hoey (@KateHoeyMP) April 12, 2016
A variety of media experts asserted newspapers could hardly have run the storyline, since it did not satisfy the necessary public interest threshold.
Steve Hewlett, a Guardian columnist who presents The Media Show, on Radio 4, said: “If you adopt at face value what they have said, and the story plot is man meets woman on Match.com, doesn’t know she actually is a prostitute, then when he realizes, stops their bond, it can be hard to find out how you get to a tale with a public interest justification.
“I just don’t go to whichever evidence due to this grand conspiracy that may be being suggested. You just don’t need any one that to spell out his attitude towards press regulation. It was always the way in which he was very likely to go.”
Roy Greenslade, a media commentator who incorporates a Guardian column, said: “It’s quite straightforward; newspapers sensible that they would make an attempt to get a narrative, they have got investigated the story plot and have discovered there isn’t a narrative that they can justify publishing. There are no public interest justifications.”
Bob Satchwell, the executive director from the Society of Editors, said it would be a "preposterous conspiracy theory too far" to mention newspapers and broadcasters "jointly decided not to ever publish" the tale .
"The proven fact that the newspapers and broadcasters could all meet up and say 'we are certainly not running the tale' is merely silly," he explained. "This story is very much more about your schedule of using dating websites.
"In effect 1 man embarrassingly ended a relationship having a single woman after he discovered she wasn't all she were. Since the Leveson report and also the establishment of the new and tougher press regulator, papers are getting to be extremely careful about stories involving anyone in public areas life."
Charlie Beckett, a media professor for the London School of Economics, said: “Ultimately, any suggestion that this newspapers suppressed the storyplot purely in order to avoid more stringent press regulation just doesn't make much political sense. This is a man who may have always been within the record as strongly, ideologically against any statutory dangerous the press.”
Role:
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Constituency:
MP for Maldon
Education:
Studied economics at Winchester College and University College London
Early career
Worked in the Whitehall and also the City, including roles as Special Adviser to your Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and Political Secretary for the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
Key appointments
1992: MP for South Colchester and Maldon
1997: MP for your new constituency of Maldon and East Chelmsford. One year as Opposition Whip
2001: Shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
2002 Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
2005: Chairman in the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee
2015: Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport
"I have for ages been fascinated by politics. When I was 15, I sat up which has a torch beneath the bedclothes listening to your 1974 election results."
- John Whittingdale
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