I rarely pass on the many newspaper spelling errors and/or typos sent to me on a regular basis. But this Daily Telegraph mistake, on its iPad edition, was too good to ignore.
The guy who spotted it gleefully wrote:
“I found the impact of the big scoop today was somewhat lessened by news of Sir Malcolm Rifkind’s secret defection to the Labour party”.
But it does offer me an opportunity to praise the paper for its cash-for-access exposé of Rifkind and Jack Straw. It is a reminder, despite its recent travails (see here and here), of its journalistic capabilities.
Leaving aside whether or not the MPs breached parliamentary rules, the way they spoke about themselves while being covertly filmed was justification enough for its undercover sting. They were shown to be using their positions in order to grasp money, so the public interest was obvious.
That single boast by a laughing Rifkind - “you’d be surprised how much free time I have” - was utterly cynical. His Kensington & Chelsea voters should demand he stand down right away.
His parliamentary colleagues will surely tip him out of his chairmanship of the intelligence and security committee later today. His position is indeed untenable.
As for Straw, his comment about being available to speak at £5,000 a day was enough to damn him in the eyes of his Blackburn constituents.
And today’s follow-up Telegraph splash, Jack Straw to take job for firm he lobbied for in Commons, suggests he has more questions to answer about his behaviour.
Both men have strenuously denied the Telegraph’s allegations. But they are condemned by what they said - and they cannot deny that.
