Link to Crick’s reported comments:

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/matthew-bell-the-iiosi-diary-1731991.html

Never trust a man who says things aren’t what you didn’t say they were.

I have no control over what the bbc decides to broadcast other than by not watching it.

How about going to the source of there staff (Cambridge and Oxford universities)

The bbc certainly considers the internet a bad thing as nothing positive is ever reported.

If anyone tells me where the best place to blog about BBC policy is, I will do it. But why does Ladbrokes keep offering odds of 33/1 for Ian Gibson? This seems to me to be a very bad deal. He isn’t reapplying for the MP job, in this election, is he? The story I heard is that he now has the job of ‘Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Three Chiltern Hundreds of Stoke, Desborough and Burnham’. Presumably his theoretical duties now involve awarding theoretical ASBOs to any hoodies, vagabonds or masterless villains found lurking in those leafy places. Since he isn’t an election candidate (as far as I know) the odds against him winning must be much longer than 33/1.

Hear, hear, Tim, beautifully put. It’s a classic cheap shot from Crick, very dissembling & shifty behaviour.

(Thanks for posting the link, which the Indie website’s own search engine couldn’t find.)

Let’s take at face value the man’s own words, his intro on his own personal Newsnight blog:

“I’m Michael Crick, and I’m Newsnight’s political editor. My guiding rule is that in any story there’s usually something the politicians would prefer the world not to know. My job is to find that out.”

So this is a real test of Crick the reporter and the man. Is he so puffed up with his own self-importance that he will decree what is and is not news, or he is prepared to report what is happening on the ground?

“I’m Michael Crick, and I’m Newsnight’s political editor. My guiding rule is that in any story there’s usually something the politicians would prefer the world not to know. My job is to find that out.”

And make sure that the world doesn’t ever get to know it.

Instead of concentrating solely on Newsnight, you should go more for the BBC and ITV local news broadcasts – ‘Look East’ amd whatever the other one is, and the local press – EDP, etc. Only after you have got these covered, start worrying more about Newsnight, Channel 4 News etc. I don’t watch these local broadcasts much, or read the EDP, (so I don’t know whether you’ve already been in them) but most of your prospective constituents do take more notice of these (and the ITV and BBC main news) than they do of ‘Newsnight’.

I agree with you about Michael Crick and Newsnight censorship of the message that you want to put across. The place to be having that argument is on BBC related media – not so much here, where we are ‘preaching to the converted’. When I tried to complain to complain directly to Newsnight and the BBC, I failed to do it, because of the BBC’s complicated complaints procedure. If anyone can advise me on how to get around this, I will try again.

Of course it’s censorship directed by the government or let’s be more exact, the permanent unelected government. The last person they would want is a someone who stands up to his beliefs rather than someone who grovels and runs after every tit bit thrown his or her way or one well trained to oil the wheels of a party machine which acts as shadow executive of the permanent government.

You need to contact Helen Boaden, head of news at the BBC.

However, check your e-mail.

I agree with Ruth. Word comes down the direct line from No 10 to the BBC. Craig has rattled the cage.

It is noteworthy that Crick (I’m Michael Crick..Fly Me!) writes of Smith and Ostrowski in Norwich North but NOT about Craig who is a far more interesting candidate and person.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/newsnight/michaelcrick/

Clive avoid the b. useless complaints ad write direct to michael.crick@bbc.co.uk

and to the Editor of Newsnight peter.rippon@bbc.co.uk

The previous editor Peter Barron decamped to the Zionist outfit Google whose co-founder Sergey Brin supports Israel and who visited there to celebrate their 60th ‘birthday’, ie Al Naqba.

Clive,

Thanks, but grandmothers and eggs…

Both Radio Norfolk and Look East are blanking us. Have writen letters to the Edp, not published, sent them press releases, not referenced, and given a long interview to their political correspondent, not published, and done a photoshoot for a photographer they sent – not published.

Also a Mail on Sunday feature which the M on S had commissioned from me and which they much praised has been spiked – and they have agreed to still pay for it, unheard of.

I have told people to concentrate on reaching the pople direct and not waste time on a boycotting media.

I am really sorry about what is going on Craig. I wish with all my heart that the people there see the truth and elect you.

There are better odds on Paddy Power if anyone fancies a punt. Craig is 20/1

http://tiny.cc/V7SXj

I’m sorry too, but it is also a sign that you have got under their skin and are therefore doing something right.

The Mail on Sunday affair is the most surprising in a way. Only a couple of days ago the Mail published a thoughtful (for them) piece about the 7/7 bombings highlighting, once again, some of the more glaring inconsistencies in the official account. That article obviously wasn’t spiked but yours was. Interesting.

Hi Craig. I agree but I am afraid there is not much you can do about the BBC unless you can successfully bypass them and make them look the irrelevent and out of touch folls thay are.

You and other independents need a forum. The whole country needs a strong forum on the internet that is not controlled by established interests. Currently all of the dissident blogs, and there are a lot out there, are all disjointed and fragmented.

I have just created a new internet site at tanstaafl.socialgo.com and I have created a constituency/group there for the Norwich by-election. Amongst other things this site will record a rolling poll of voting intentions. I suggest that you try to get as many as possible of your supporters to sign up and vote before the other parties know it is there. If you can get a meaningful number of your people signed up (I am thinking at least one thousand plus so that we can not be ignored) then we can start publishing the poll results. Hopefully you can use this to get extra publicity in spite of the BBC.

It must be the heat – they are worse odds!

I have just written to Wm Hill asking them why they have omitted Craig altogether from their list of odds.

http://guardian.oddschecker.com/specials/politics-and-election/norwich-north-by-election/winning-party

Hi Craig,

It is with regret that you cannot get coverage, and as a Green, I know how frustrating it is to not get your fair share of press. It infuriates me too.

However, please don’t take this out on the Greens, after all, we do have an organisation that has been working Norwich for some years, across Norwich we also polled more votes than any other party in the Euro Elections, albeit we are not as strong in Norwich North as we are in Norwich South.

I would like all candidates to get a fair share of coverage, but it doesn’t always happen. The best thing you can do is concentrate the efforts on the ground, keep trying with other outlets, and then see if Newsnight picks it up.

Once again, I am sorry to see that Newsnight has sidelined another decent candidate.

Well, the British National Party do now have two MEPs and several County Councillors. Just how many does your party have Craig? I’m afraid that no matter what your (probably distorted) views are of the BNP, they are a legally constituted political party with over one million ordinary British people voting for them, and those votes are increasing year on year as more people are seeing through the lies and smears. When your party is growing like the British National Party, then maybe you’ll get more change from the BBC and other media outlets.

Sorry matey, but that’s politics, can be quite bruising.

I would like to encourage anyone thinking of putting money on at the bookies to actually send their stake to the campaign office as a donation instead.

I would think the secret services have had all holidays cancelled to ensure Craig doesn’t win. The people who really run the country don’t want anybody in parliament who will lower the veil and show exactly what’s going on. The MPs expenses are just the tip of the iceberg.

I sent an email to Newsnight on 1 July.

This is what I asked:

Please can you explain why Craig Murray was left out of your list of candidates for Norwich North.

This is what I got back:

Thanks for your email. We’ll have a look at your suggestion for an investigation and get back to you for further information.

If your comment is a general comment it will be made available to others on the programme but we will not directly reply to you.

I think I’ll have to look at whether I continue paying for a TV licence for an organisation that is in effect the mouthpiece of our rulers.

Ruth,

This webiste may interest you:

http://www.bbctvlicence.com/index.htm

Our party “British National Party” have always been denied decent coverage so stop crying over spilt milk , stop spitting the dummy and get on with life , your a single independant that doesnt stand a chance with your right wing views and lack of policies.

Why don’t you try medialens. They’re always having spats with BBC news, and are very effective at getting replies.

Some of the silly replies and poorly argued emails from journos do reveal a fundamental dishonesty at the heart of media.

You can contact them here:

http://www.medialens.org/contacts/

Err… where to start with message from “BNP”? And it’s not the apostrophes missing in action, either.

If “right wing views” is aimed at Craig, then that’s a peculiar charge, given that the mainstream would easily label Craig’s position as left wing. And Craig would probably label them specifically liberal rather than left. In any case, politics is always more complex than this reductionist measure – see the previous post on Political Compass for why this is the case.

I guess if you have a specific problem with something Craig’s said, or not said, then by all means do raise it. But the mainstream is quite right to recognise the BNP as a racist party, so I hope you’re not putting it forward as a decent alternative. The only thing I would like to see the media do more is to highlight the BNP as a party of fascists, given their links to white power groups and their admiration of Hitler.

@BBCTVLicence.com

38 letters seems to easily qualify as a course of conduct amounting to harassment: see Ferguson v British Gas [2009] EWCA Civ 46.

http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2009/46.html

Why not pop down to your local CAB and ask them to help you with the pre-action protocol, for instance the letter before claim. TVL will probably ignore it so then you can file your claim for damages. If you look at the Annex in Ferguson (see url above) that will give you an idea on how to draft the particulars of claim.

Answer: the BNP has two MEPs and many councillors. They are a much more newsworthy party than an unknown independent who has no party backing. QED. Not sure why you are getting your knickers in a twist over this, it’s not newsworthy. You missed the boat.

jon you talk bollocks , you read all the lies in the news and believe it just like the rest of the pc brigade.

we have no white power groups and we are more left wing than the mainstream parties , not that you will believe anything but your arse .

the BNP are growing bigger by the day so get used to it .

and just for the record this prick murray is on the same level as the gutterpress “full of lies”

BNP how is Craig on the same level as the gutterpress.Please expand. Futhermore your Party the BNP have nicked all the old Labour Policys in order to con peaple in to voting for them just like your mentor Herr Hitler did.

Like Luke, as a Green I know how difficult it is to get media exposure. The big three grey parties tend to get the lion’a share of the coverage. Like other posters have said, the best way forward to is keep the campaign on the doorstep as you can’t rely on the media to give you a fair hearing. They’ve ignored the facts on Iraq and torture; you’re reminding them how poor they are at keeping the corrupt shits running this country to account.

It’s interesting that you’re getting the BNP knuckledraggers trolling here, it suggests they see you as a threat, so you must be doing something right.

Yes BNP, you are newsworthy. So is Ian Huntley. However, Michael Crick would not go out and offer Huntley a publicity interview. His comment about seeking out the BNP to offer them a publicity interview, ahead of Craig Murray (and ahead of UKIP, for that matter) is a disgrace to the BBC.

Craig, regarding your sucking eggs comment. I have been involved in local, Norwich campaigning-type-things and, sometimes, in local politics, since the early 80′s – (and, before then, in Hastings and London). I have also usually found it difficult to get media coverage for the things that I have been involved in. That is why I was once involved with the editorial group of a successful, editorially independent, local environmental magazine – until it was sabotaged by a national pressure group, which didn’t wish to respect our editorial independence. Since then, I have mainly tried to find other ways to bypass the establishment media. I know this doesn’t help you much with your immediate problem of getting mainstream coverage (if I get any ideas about this, I will let you know) but I hope it will encourage you to support independent and alternative media ventures if you are elected.

What about local radio?

http://www.radio-now.co.uk/anglia.htm

Looks like you can avoid the Beeb and talk direct to the local folk, who are all that matter, after all.

Interesting story here:

http://www.torybear.com/2009/07/not-blowing-his-whistle-now.html

“However Craig fails to mention the fact that he hard-balled the FCO out of six years full salary before he would fall on his own sword and is thus still on the taxpayer funded payroll to this day.”

What’s your response to this Craig?

What infantile tosh. Is Tory Bear trying to market Boris Johnson as some sort of latter day Lord Sebastian Flyte carrying Aloysius? The content on the site seems to emanate from the Sixth Form of a minor public school.

http://www.torybear.com/2009/06/weekly-cartoon-from-posh-tory.html

‘Sebastian and Youth

Cara says it best: “Sebastian is in love with his own childhood.” He carries around a teddy-bear named Aloysius (named after Saint Aloysius, the patron of youth, by the way). The only positive relationship in his life ?”besides Charles ?” is with his Nanny, who for some reason still lives at Brideshead. Sebastian, like a child, is incessantly concerned with possession, even of people ?” Samgrass is “someone of Mummy’s”; Rex is “someone of Julia’s”, etc. He gets so territorial about Charles because he applies these same childish rules of possession to their friendship. In his mind, Charles belongs to him, and his family can’t intrude. (More on this in a bit.) And even Charles remarks that Sebastian provides him with the childhood he never had. Where did this all come from?’

Yawn.

Craig has already admiitted that he was given six years’ salary from the FCO. He says he could have received more if he had contested his dismissal.

eddie, since when was Craig Murray an ‘unknown independent’? The very fact that you show such interest in his blog would rather suggest that ‘unknown’ is a particularly lazy epithet.

As for the BNP….. fascists.

Craig,

Straight to the point;

#1- You have made an impact, hence the “Psyop” operatives as in Denim…, and eddie, taking direct aims at your personal affairs.

#2- The notions of an Independent Candidate, replacing the usual predatory arrangements of Party structures, funded always by the rich, whom evidently expect no returns, (yeah I should cocoa too).

#3- The labour grandee started his line on the independent candidates, on the BBC newsnight of them all places way back amidst the brouhaha of the expense scrounging, tax dodging, multi job free loaders getting outed for their greed, and avarice.

#4 – The lines adopted by; eddie, and Denim are the attack lines set out by the “strategists” of the relevant parties. These trolls, are regurgitating the same sophistry to cover up the underlying malice and contempt for democracy. Remember good old Bernie Ecclestone and his adorations of those getting the Job done: Herr Hitler.

#5 – You are under the misapprehension we live in a democracy, hence your undue expectations from the media. Remember freedom of the press means you are free to own one. The local papers have a lot of advertising revenue riding on covering the right people, and ignoring the right people too.

#6 – Get your people to gather the constituents into the venues for speeches, and questions and answers, get your people to make the proposition to Norwich; all politicians are corrupt, Craig is not a politician by any measure, and can change the way Norwich is managed, and make a difference, instead of pandering to the predatory corporates, and their representatives among the current batch of vassals pushed into place as per the current arrangements, and the politicians being offered to Norwich yet again.

#7 – Your policy is to let Norwich decide what is good for Norwich, not hampering Norwich with a plethora of verbiage, that essentially is designed to beholden Norwich to existing vested interests.

#8 – Don’t expect any help from the main stream Media, and or local media however be on the look out for the hatchet jobs initiated in the local media, and issue the rebuttals to these promptly.

Good luck, I do not envy your task.

Rossinisbird

It’s not that the BBC has ignored the Iraq war so much as that Blair hacked down all the BBC personnel that criticised his Iraq policy, banned 90% of the reporting from the war because of ongoing military action and poured sodium chloride on the roots of free speech.

Blair told us many times that he would take full responsibility for his decisions, which in his own terms he has done. The Zionists who commissioned the war have rewarded him thoroughly for his services to Zionism by removing the threat of a strong Iraq from Israel. Craig is now beginning to understand the Zionist connection in the BBC. Blair will be judged in God’s court with the Zionist criminals who have overtaken UK and US foreign policy.

The Fascist BNP that has started to flourish in the paraquated set-aside created by new Labour represents a tiny minority of opinion in the UK, while Craig represents the vast majority.

I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that Craig and his values and principles will grab the imagination of the electorate of the UK and prevail.

Is Eddie trying to pin the donkey’s tail on the BNP?

@Clive

“I was once involved with the editorial group of a successful, editorially independent, local environmental magazine – until it was sabotaged by a national pressure group, which didn’t wish to respect our editorial independence.”

Could you expand on this a bit please? What magazine was this, what national pressure group sabotaged you, and how could they, if you were independent? What advice would you have for others to resist similar persecution?

Chris

Craig is unknown to 99.9% of the population. Known to me, of course, but then I am a geek like you. Don’t kid yourself that this is mainstream media or mainstream web activity.

BNP = fascists, I agree.

eddie,

I think you underestimate Craig’s profile, although I freely admit that he’s not in the Beckham league of celebrity. The issue is whether the BBC (who do know exactly who he is) should acknowledge the fact that he is a serious candidate here.

The problem that exists now is that Mr Crick will discriminate all the more lest he be seen to have been wrong in the first instance. At least Craig has the satisfaction of knowing that there is, at least, some concern among the mainstream – be it politics or media – which suggests he is on to something. Good on him for that.

Geek?????? fair enough……

The issue is not Craig’s national profile but his standing within the Norwich North constituency. Here he appears to be running a creditable fourth, way ahead of the BNP who are barely showing at all. The BBC should be reflecting this, not trying to rectify it.

That Mr Crick is very discriminatory for a scientist. Remember what he said about Africans and intelligence!

NORWICH NORTH – PLEASE READ

1) Call for Volunteers:

If anyone has even just one hour, or one evening to spare we urgently need your help to deliver leaflets in Norwich North. Craig’s campaign is making great progress and it is essential we keep this momentum going. Benefits include a chance to meet similar, like-minded people as well as showing the main political parties that you are sick of their corruption and sleaze. For those of you living outside Norwich come on down and feel the spirit – accommodation is available still! Call 079080 53099 or 079080 53098 to discuss.

2) Still time to Register to Vote in Norwich North.

For those of you lucky enough to live in Norwich North who are not yet on the electoral register you still have a chance to vote for Craig. Wednesday 8th July is the last day to register and the process is easy. To find out more please go to the following link for details: http://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk/

Come and join in, the campaign is really gaining momemtum!

Strategist,

You could start by asking for help from the NUJ. Their primary responsibility is to their journalists – and you have got a very newsworthy story for their members. If some of them write it and photograph it some of them will get paid when their work gets published.

http://media.gn.apc.org/nujone.html

Tony

Craig is running fourth in the bookies, not in any poll or indicator of opinion of the actual people in Norwich North! Totally unscientific.

Get your soapbox and loudspeaker out Craig and turn up outside the announced venues. My father did this in the 70s.

I feel ashamed that we are living in such an undemocratic country and feel very sorry for you. You have the guts to counter this.

Are you getting fair coverage in the local press and radio?

i thought you registered as a party, so why are you getting this ” independents have to line up behind the parties” line?

Clearly it’s NOT because you are an independent. There must be some reason for this discrimination……now if you could find cause to suggest it is for some reason that is not legal….you haven’t made it known that you have a mental health/bipolar disorder have you?

You have!! Really…..you don’t think….

The elite who run the BBC would hands down prefer the BNP to win over Craig Murray. This is screamingly obvious.

I’m wondering when the anti-fascist groups are going to start a specific campaign to demand that the BBC show the BNP in all their violent extremist glory rather than the fluffy ‘anti-immigration’ party that they are currently painting them as.

They have their roots in the NF and their older members come from the British Union of Fascists. There is youtube footage of Griffin adressing the KKK and explaining that they are ‘using democracy’ in order to present a moderate face and that they should play down the extremist language in the interim.

The proof that they are fascists prepared to use violence against minorities and progressives is all over the place. They themselves will admit to being Nazis. The only people pretending all of this isn’t the case is the BBC.

It’s time to demand why our taxes are being spent of promoting violent far-right thugs and presenting them as respectable. Nicky Campbell was positively gushing over Andrew ‘Rights for Whites’ Brons the other week and calling him ‘Professor’ (even Brons had to admit that this was an incorrect way to address him).

The BBC are a bunch of sick and twisted bastards these days. I would be utterly ashamed if I was a BBC worker in 2009.

JB, for which rant you have absolutely no proof wahstoever.

Oh, what a surprise ‘eddie’ is a bnp sympathiser. Who’da thunk it?

BBC…

http://tinyurl.com/nwn33t

More BBC…

http://tinyurl.com/ndsjxu