Published: March 5th 2009 - at 1:53 pm

Why is Andrew Gilligan still taken seriously?


by Sunny Hundal    

I was intrigued by a Londoner’s Diary column in the Evening Standard having a dig yesterday at occasional LC contributor Dave Hill. Could it have anything to do with the fact that Dave Hill keeps exposing Andrew Gilligan’s piss-poor journalism?

Last week Gilligan flew the kite that Sir Alan Sugar had been approached to stand as Mayor. “Complete bollocks,” as Dave Hill soon pointed out. Then, as Adam documents here, the story died as other journalists realised it didn’t stack up either. The Evening Standard story too kept getting revised to fit the facts. Not the first time Andrew “sockpuppet” Gilligan has been left with egg on his face.

On a side note, the Tories are also left with egg on their faces. As Mick Fealty points out here, it’s no surprise blogger Iain Dale has kept silent about Caroline Spelman being caught out: he confidently predicted recently that she’d be cleared of any wrong-doing. It was, of course, part of a half-hearted attempt to influence the parliamentary committee’s decision. Fail.

Guys, if you want to do media hit-jobs, you must learn from the Democrats. Though, I’m not sure there’s any hope for Andrew Gilligan; he’s still running a campaign against Ken Livingstone.


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About the author
Sunny Hundal is editor of LC. Also: on Twitter, at Pickled Politics and Guardian CIF.
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Story Filed Under: Blog ,Media ,Realpolitik ,Westminster


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Reader comments


“On a side note, the Tories are also left with pie on their faces”

Not the posters on ConHome and Guido, they were baying for Spelman’s blood!

Gilligan is employed by the Islamic Republic of Iran’s propaganda TV station, Press TV.

Press TV publishes Holocaust denial material.

*Is* Andrew Gilligan still taken seriously?

Well, he still writes for the Evening Standard – so that must mean someone does, foolishly.

Richard – don’t think all of them were Tories, especially not on Guido (who will bay for anyone’s blood really)

Is the Evening Standard taken particularly seriously?

Who buys it?

“Is the Evening Standard taken particularly seriously?

Who buys it?”

Your writers apparently.

Isn’t it odd that there’s been a revert-war on Wikipedia about Dave Hill and Adam’s sockpuppeting allegations but not about his employment on Press TV? Which one’s more scandalous, I wonder?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Andrew_Gilligan

The Standard today has a piece correctly pointing out that replacing bendy buses costs more, which directly contradicts something Gilligan wrote a few months back when he was using his position as King Bendy Basher to have a go at me. That in itself is a considerable improvement in journalistic standards.

The Standard today has a piece correctly pointing out that replacing bendy buses costs more, which directly contradicts something Gilligan wrote a few months back when he was using his position as King Bendy Basher to have a go at me. That in itself is a considerable improvement in journalistic standards.

Ooooh! are we likely to see a humiliating climbdown by Gilligan?

Gilligan has no credibility left. The fact that the Standard still keeps him on tells you all you need to know about that Tory rag.

“Why is Andrew Gilligan taken seriously?”

Is he? I dimly recall him having something to do with the WMD/Iraq story in which his personal characteristics didn’t exactly shine, although he did expose some less-than-exemplary behaviour on the part of the government. Since then, I haven’t read a single piece or heard or seen a single broadcast from him. His credibility is very low down the list of things I care about.

Is this a London thing?

He’s being taken seriously by you anyway, otherwise why bother writing about him?!

PS I’m in Chicago and thought you would enjoy the fact that at breakfast just now I overheard some “yuppies” as we would have called them a while back complaining loudly about Obama’s “class war”!

“He’s being taken seriously by you anyway, otherwise why bother writing about him?!”

Nobody gives a flying fig where you are writing from troll or what you have to say.

All you do is repeat your right wing talking points. No doubt your yuppie friends got the message from Fox which is running a big “Obama is a communist line. ”

Class war is always fought by the capitalist brown shirts.

13. David Boothroyd

The Evening Standard is changing, subtly but definitely, since the change of ownership. And as London’s only proper daily newspaper (not to mention one which still supports the freesheet London Lite) it has to be taken seriously. It is in every Londoner’s interest that it contains quality journalism and not biased tat. That’s why it’s worth bothering.


Reactions: Twitter, blogs
  1. Liberal Conspiracy

    New post: Why is Andrew Gilligan still taken seriously? http://tinyurl.com/c9nv7g

  2. Pickled Politics » Lee Jasper hits back at Andrew Gilligan

    [...] journalist so intent on smearing Ken can be taken seriously on that claim, especially when Gilligan doesn’t actually do serious journalism. If he did, we might [...]





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