Another 'Gate' opens..

Problems in the post for Mandelson

'..well he was cleared of any wrongdoing..'

What a trooper. I am always curious as to how, when, against or for whom, by whom and to what volume this phrase gets applied. It is, of course, deliciously ambiguous, providing almost anyone (including, and maybe especially the protagonist) the opportunity to make of it what they will. And hence has little value.

We are in an era of impressions. For instance, there may not be anything wrong for a senior Eurocrat enjoying the hospitality of a host whose interests are subsequently well served, but to those not invited on a daily basis to private islands or yachts it just looks as it smells.

But I guess its just down to one's political leanings when it comes to which gates get opened to see what horse might be persuaded to bolt into the traffic.

Telegraph - Why didn't the BBC report the Mandelson story?

Yes, is Sophie Rayworth now hanging on a hook in Andrew Marr's basement so he can show his dinner guests how they deal with those who don't foloow the party line?

I have got a bit fed up with penning 'Angry of Mayfair' (or, in my case, 'Cross of Ross') blogs on this.

How the heck does one go to to get some action? I don't like and don't want to pay for propaganda, especially under threat of fine.

I bumped into my MP t'other day. He's off next election so couldn't give a monkeys, so the Conservative and Lib Dem PPC's gunning for his slot can tell me what they'd do.

Any BBC mechanism is hardly worth thinking about, from the joke that is Newswatch through template-issuing 'Complaints' to the most woefully named entity in the world; The Trust.

My MP suggested The DCMS Secretary of State, but as this is an entity employed by the very outfit writing too many PR... er... news items for the BBC and its tame mouthpieces, and knows my vote is a lost cause, I suspect that is an unproductive line of attack.

Any suggestions that might make a darn difference? If the mounting unrest I am coming across, and often overt rumblings in many major media (even the Grauniad for heaven's sake) is anything to go by, it will need something pretty special to shake this uniquely funded institution out of its total self-belief that it can act any way it wishes... and get away with it.