Conservatives going apesh*t in Great Britain
from the Independent UK:
Boris Johnson today launched his second expletive-strewn tirade of the London mayoral election when he swore on camera about the investigative work of a BBC journalist.
With the campaign to run City Hall entering its final 72 hours, Mr Johnson sought to swat aside questions about his dealings with News International by accusing Tim Donovan, the political editor of BBC London, of talking “fucking bollocks” following a report about the London Mayor’s attempts to secure sponsorship from Rupert Murdoch’s empire.
The outburst, which was broadcast by the BBC in a lunchtime news bulletin, followed an earlier incident last month in which the Conservative incumbent called his Labour opponent Ken Livingstone a “fucking liar” in a lift following a dispute over their tax arrangements.
Mr Johnson’s latest brush with controversy followed a report by Mr Donovan which focused on the Tory candidate’s meetings with senior NI figures in 2010 shortly after he had dismissed the News of the World phone hacking scandal in front of the London Assembly as “codswallop”. .................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-turns-the-airwaves-blue-after-bbc-mentions-links-to-murdoch-7697648.html
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The Prime Minister was dragged to the House of Commons yesterday to face hostile questioning from MPs on why he still refuses to allow an inquiry into whether his Culture Secretary broke ministerial rules over the BSkyB deal.
Downing Street was angered after David Cameron was forced to cancel an election visit to Milton Keynes to be pulled before Parliament. Facing criticism that he was using Lord Justice Leveson's inquiry as a "smokescreen" to avoid a full investigation into the conduct of Jeremy Hunt, an irate Mr Cameron admitted that Lord Leveson did not have the power to adjudicate on breaches of the Ministerial Code.
The Prime Minister declined to act now and said that he would wait until Mr Hunt had given evidence to the inquiry, rather than order his own investigation. Pressure will intensify today as a DCMS report will criticise James Murdoch of failing to provide parliament with a full account of News International's internal knowledge of phone hacking at the News of the World.
Mr Cameron's unscheduled appearance before Parliament – which was sanctioned by the Commons Speaker, John Bercow, who granted an urgent question on the affair to the Labour leader, Ed Miliband – also incensed Tory backbenchers who are already at loggerheads with Mr Bercow. ................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/cornered-cameron-rejects-inquiry-on-hunt-7697843.html