4 - Patricia Guppy Writes To The Daily Telegraph
Below is a copy of the comment which Patricia Guppy made on The Daily Telegraph’s website concerning the article written by Peter Stanford.
This comment was removed by The Telegraph, with or without Mr. Stanford’s connivance.
Moderation of readers’ comments occurs only very exceptionally and typically when the commentator uses inappropriate language. Since the language used is clearly no worse than that employed by one or two other commentators whose remarks were not moderated why then was this comment removed?
There is only one inference:
Because it was embarrassing to The Telegraph and to Mr Stanford.
Mr. Stanford’s snide and cowardly defamation of Patricia Guppy will have done them no credit and his email by means of which he first approached Darius Guppy is embarrassing because it proves that his representations were in bad faith.
Nowhere in his article did he address any of the questions he put to Darius Guppy.
His remit had been to do a hatchet job and he attempted to lure DG into giving him an interview – a ruse which failed.
March 30 via The Telegraph
· How presumptuous that this hack assumes that I am a "long-suffering wife."
Anyone who had bothered to do the slightest research instead of relying on anonymous "friends" would laugh.
I therefore invite this hack to come and visit me at my home in Cape Town where he can repeat the snide comment he made about me in front of my husband instead of from the comfort of his laptop.
And how badly researched. Too long to go into: my husband never once "hawked himself" round any after dinner circuit. "Howls of pain" ... please!
An anonymous "friend" or "guest" or "contemporary" ... Really?
Methinks it's a case of sour grapes because my husband refused him an interview only two days ago.
Here is his grovelling letter:
"Dear Mr Guppy.
My apologies for this somewhat unorthodox method of making contact but I was unable to find a contact number for you or your representative. I am a features writer in London for the Daily Telegraph newspaper and have read with interest your strongly-worded attack in the Spectator on the treatment recently meted out to Boris Johnson by a BBC presenter.
I wonder if you might be willing to develop a little further the challenging points you raise about the whole episode by way either of a phone conversation, or by an exchange of emails? I would very much like to take up the arguments you lay out in a piece in our paper on Saturday.
The points I would like to pursue are as follows:
You seem to suggest early on in the article that the Leveson enquiry was too narrow in its remit and, later, that it failed to address the sort of illegal treatment you suffered at the hands of journalists. I wonder if you would have been willing to give evidence at the Leveson hearings, had you been approached, or if you had your doubts as to the independence of the process?
You pose the question whether private conduct should impinge of individuals holding public office. The historical examples you quote appear to indicate that you feel that it shouldn’t. Would you make any exceptions?
Does your disdain for politicians in general for their lack of big ideas extend to your near contemporary at Eton, David Cameron?
You leave open the question of how far Mr Johnson has been corrupted by the system, or re-programmed by advisors. Are you sufficiently in touch with him now to attempt an answer?
Are the flaws you describe in politicians inevitable in a democracy? You have, for example, spoken in the past of your admiration for the system In Iran, where you have business and family links. Are there lessons the West could learn from there?
These sound very bald set out in writing like this, but I hope you may feel that there is some basis for an exchange of views in what I have so inadequately set out here. If so, you can contact me by email at peterstanford@..... or via .... at the features desk of the Telegraph on 0044 207 931 2000, best of all by Friday am.
Many thanks. Yours
Peter Stanford"
Never trust a journalist!
Below is a snapshot of the comments page relating to Mr Stanford’s article.
The Daily Telegraph have removed Patricia Guppy’s comment (and, incidentally, edited Mac69’s comment beyond recognition).
The Telegraph have even changed her name to “Guest.” All this to avoid embarrassment, as stated above.
In short, censorship.
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