Media pundit and HTFP blogger Steve Dyson has hit out at The Sun for its ‘obsession’ with the government chief whip Andrew Mitchell.
Sutton Coldfield MP Mr Mitchell has been at the centre of a media storm for the past week after the tabloid claimed he had swore at police officers and called them ‘plebs.’
Mr Mitchell has denied using the words attributed to him, although police log records appear to stand up The Sun’s story.
However former Birmingham Mail and Teesside Gazette editor Steve has now called on the newspaper to “move on” and accused it of using the story to keep Hillsborough off the front pages.
Steve spoke out in a strongly-worded post on West Midlands-based blog The Chamberlain Files, run by his fellow former Trinity Mirror editor Marc Reeves.
He wrote: “Don’t you just hate it when The Sun becomes obsessed with a particular incident or individual? The headlines barely differ: SACK HIM; THE SUN DEMANDS HE MUST GO; SUN POLL SAYS ‘GO’…
“What are they talking about now? The England football manager again? Nick Clegg? Jeremy Hunt? Ah, no, this time it’s Sutton Coldfield MP and government Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell.
“Why, what’s he done? Slept with his secretary? Fiddled his expenses? Kicked a begging tramp into the gutter?
“Er, no. He’s lost his rag when what he felt was a jobsworth copper refused to let him ride his bicycle through the main gates to Downing Street.”
Steve went on to say that the politician had “messed up badly” and needed to show more contrition over the incident than he has done.
But he praised Mr Mitchell’s record as a “hard working MP” and government minister who had helped the world’s poor.
He added: “Above all other reasons, I’m uncomfortable with The Sun and co because I see their obsessive ‘Mitchell must go’ drive as a shamed national media desperate to reassert themselves as a power over government in the wake of Leveson.
“As an old colleague of mine mentioned today on Facebook, it wasn’t a bad way for The Sun to get Hillsborough off the front pages as well, was it?”
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Wrong call by Steve Dyson. What this is about is a toffee-headed, popinjay, foul-mouthed, ignorant upper class twit thinking he’s now God Almighty and behaving like a big-headed school bully towards police just doing their job. Mitchell compounded the problem by the way he reacted. His pavement “statement” was nothing but a joke and shows that he has absolutely no idea how to behave. Good for any paper to keep at him.
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Who do you think you are, Steve – the Max Clifford of Birmingham!? Lol
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I agree with Steve. This is a `man swears at copper’ shocker. So he’s a politician. Big deal. I’ve often heard worse in our newsroom. And have you ever been to the pub? Or on the terraces?
InTheClub Style needs to stop pretending he’s some working class hero and knock that chip off his shoulder.
If the police had been just doing their jobs at Hillsborough, and opened and closed the right gates, a lot of people would still be alive today.
The copper who went bleating to his boss that a politician said nasty words to him needs to man up and grow a thicker skin, after counselling for the trauma obviously. FFS
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There’s no doubt Mitchell should go – especially if the Tories value their power. The latest polls show their popularity has slumped and Labour has shot ahead. Probably has something to do with Gove alienating all teachers by claiming they don’t deserve to be called professionals and then Mitchell alienating all coppers – a notoriously right-wing profession – by calling them ‘plebs’ and telling them to ‘learn their place’.
But he won’t go. Mitchell won’t go because he cannot understand why everybody is so cheesed off and still believes – though he wouldn’t admit it – that he’s above the police. Cameron won’t give him the boot because that’s what BoJo wants and he doesn’t want to be seen as cowtowing to him.
So, in conclusion: Mitchell should go and the Sun was right to call for his sacking, but he won’t go so the Sun should give up.
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Mitchell is an arrogant fool
The Sun is an arrogant, bullying newspaper.
They should both go
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At last someone speaking sense. I have been completely baffled by the obsession with this minor incident.
Following the Hillsborough inquiry and the death of newspaper seller Ian Tomlinson, the police aren’t exactly popular with the general public. So who is calling for Andrew Mitchell’s resignation? Does anybody actually care that he called two policemen plebs? Isn’t being called names just one of the hazards of the job?
It wasn’t the right way for Mr Mitchell to behave but surely there are much bigger things happening in the world.
It is not up to The Sun to decide who should be an MP and who shouldn’t. Mr Mitchell was voted in by the people of Sutton Coldfield and they should be the ones to decide if his behaviour means he is incapable of being their representative in parliament or not.
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Does cowtowing involve a rope, a vehicle and a bovine quadruped?
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Minor incident makes major headlines shock? Have you ever worked in journalism Steve?
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IMHO Steve Dyson should lay off The Sun.
He clearly has his own axe to grind.
If The Sun doesn’t stand up to arrogant bullies like Mitchell who will?
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@Curious
To me it wasn’t just that he swore at a policeman (I’ve done that, being in your words a “working class hero” on quite a few NUJ picket lines). It was the other stuff – “You don’t run the ****ing government” etc and the general attempt to bully and belittle because this posh, recently-promoted Tory (Steve Dyson’s mate?) felt he should go through one gate when he was being directed, for security reasons, through another. Don’t you think people should stand-up to that kind of arrogance?
Agree with you about Hillsborough of course, but what’s that got to do with it?
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Someone famous once said that a newspaper is a device which sees a bicycling accident and thinks it’s Armageddon.
It’s what we do, Steve. It’s a well-documented phenomenon.
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