War in Ukraine is being fought on two fronts: military and information.
The Russian people do not know what is being done in their name. They are fed on a daily diet of lies.
Our newspapers, radio and TV, sometimes derided as “mainstream media”, are doing a magnificent job of telling the truth, often at great personal risk. Reporters and photographers for the Mirror have captured in graphic, moving detail the horrors of this unfolding tragedy.
The BBC, ITN and Sky News have shown equal commitment to informing the world about the brutal onslaught on Kyiv, Kharkiv and other cities.
Their dedication in this second front of this war is a vital contribution to the struggle of the Ukrainian people.
Their work is all the more effective for not being embedded in British or NATO forces. They’re free to use their own professional judgment, without pressure from Ministry of Defence brass hats.
And, I might add, the coverage is best done by seasoned reporters, rather than highly-paid studio presenters shipped out to take centre stage in the bulletins. The BBC’s nerve and skill bringing the reality of the war to our screens has muted the usual Tory critics.
Their vendetta against the Beeb looks sick in the light of front-line despatches from Lyse Doucet, James Waterhouse, Orla Guerin and Sarah Rainsford.
These reporters have no counterparts in Russia. Megalomaniac dictator Vladimir Putin has closed down independent radio, TV, newspapers and websites.
Close to 10,000 anti-war protesters, including children as young as seven and their mothers, have been arrested by police thugs.
And from today even using the word “war” will be punished with 15 years in jail. That’s how important it is for us – and the Russian people – to win the information war.
Is northern generosity a myth?
A survey of the UK’s kindest cities named Oxford as tops, followed by Belfast and Brighton. Not one of Yorkshire’s seven cities – Sheffield, Wakefield, Leeds, Bradford, Hull, York and Ripon – made it into the top 10.
I find that surprising, given that people who come here say we’re very friendly and all those places have substantial ethnic populations who made it their home, except tiny Ripon, with only 17,000 citizens.
The pollsters must have talked to the wrong people. That is, unless the old Tyke saying “if ever tha does owt for nowt, allus do it for thisen” is correct.
Paulette for the win
I sincerely hope congratulations are in order for Paulette Hamilton, who should become Labour MP for Birmingham Erdington today, after winning a by-election caused by the death of union stalwart Jack Dromey.
