Useful idiots

This morning, a BBC local reporter was provided with shots of a child being treated on a pile of coats in Leeds General Infirmary.

There was a picture.

Later, the same reporter asked the Prime Minister about the incident, or tried to, but Johnson grabbed the mobile phone with the picture and put the reporter's phone in his pocket.

There was video of this.

So both the above did happen.

This afternoon the Political editors of the BBC and ITV, Laura Keunssburg and Robert Peston, were given a story from "senior Conservative sources" that Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, who had been sent to Leeds to diffuse the escalating situation, had been punched by one of the Labour protesters who had been bussed in to demonstrate.

This was tweeted by both without comment.

Later, video of the "incident" was Tweeted, and it turned out it wasn't Hancock, and the punch was someone's outstretched arm that the SPAD had walked into.

The whole "punch" story was meant as a distraction from the fact a hospital is sho short-staffed and starved of resources, a sick child had to be treated on a corridor floor. And the BBC and ITV political editors accepted the story at face value, with no evidence and retweeted the leak without question.

These are two of the useful idiots that Brexiteers have used, and will continue to use until Johnson wins his majority and drives through a hard or no deal Brexit.

Journalism and the media in general are supposed to hold the executive to account, not parrot their lies. This has been shameful. Both have tweeted out applogies without naming sources.