Thursday 31 August 2017

TELEGRAPH BECOMING A LAUGHING STOCK

I know the old Torygraph is a bit of a joke, the kind of newspaper that panders to the prejudices of retired army officers and WI members of a certain kind, but it is making itself even more of a laughing stock over Brexit. In trying to support the government they are spinning stories in a way that would make a Daily Express sub editor blush, and that's saying something.

Yesterday, three such stories appeared. The first was about the president of the Calais region (HERE) where he is said to have "praised" the UK government's suggestion that new technology could create an invisible border in Ireland. In fact he had actually said he was "greatly interested". Since he is head of a region with a huge port this should not be a surprise but the Telegraph said it showed "more cracks in EU unity", a slight overstatement I think.

And then later EU negotiators were apparently "flabbergasted" that a "young man from Whitehall" launched what the paper described (HERE) as a "legal deconstruction" of the basis for the Brexit bill. But reading the story we learn they were actually flabbergasted at his Chutzpah in suggesting the EU's preparation on the financial settlement was inadequate. The story goes on to admit it did not go down well.

And finally, Asa Bennett, who specialises in provocative Brexit stories, says the PM can't take too long because this is "just what Remainers want" (HERE) which I think we can safely assume to mean that Mr Bennett fears Brexit will be an economic calamity the like of which we haven't seen since the 1930s and wants to make sure it happens before people come to their senses.