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31 Mar, 4 tweets, 1 min read
Leaked to friendly hacks. No prior peer review. It doesn't look as though even the government had much faith its big race report will stand up to scrutiny. 1/4 bylinetimes.com/2021/03/31/rac…
In truth this is no 'commission', just a panel handpicked by the Conservatives to provide a veneer of respectability for their awful slogans of prejudice. No institutional racism? Please. 2/4
This kind of thing is going on across Whitehall – a stampede of inquiries and panels without the slightest whiff of independence to them. And where they don't come up with the 'right' answers ministers just start the process again. 3/4
'Find me facts to suit my bigotry!' they cry. It's not evidence-led policy they want; it's policy-led evidence, adding that veneer that makes extreme views like 'there is no such thing as institutional racism' appear to be part of civilised debate. 4/4

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More from @BrianCathcart

Brian Cathcart Profile picture
9 Mar
There is nothing new in what the press is doing to #MeghanAndHarry, though the scale and venom are amazing. They did the same to Caroline Flack – also in the full knowledge that she had mental health problems. There are countless victims. They – and we – deserve better. 1/5
Journalism is supposed to be a force for good, and if we are seeing anything that gives ground for hope today it is those few journalists who are stepping back and saying 'Not in my name'. 2/5
For far too long the 'thugs with press cards' have been indulged by journalists with better instincts. For too long cruelty, bigotry and misogyny have been tolerated, defended and treated as if they were equals to honesty and fairness in the world of journalism. 3/5
Read 5 tweets
Brian Cathcart Profile picture
10 Feb
Judgment in the latest stage of the breach of privacy and copyright case brought by Meghan, Duchess of Sussex against Associated Newspapers will be handed down tomorrow, Thursday, at 4pm. A short thread on what can happen. #MeghanAndHarry 1/5
It's an application by the Duchess for 'summary judgment', seeking to cut short proceedings on the grounds that, her lawyers claim, Associated's case is so weak there's no need for a trial. 2/5
The judge can find for or against her on both claims (privacy & copyright) or give a partial judgment, 1 in her favour and 1 against. If she wins both it's over. If she wins neither, that is not an overall defeat for her; it means the whole case will proceed to trial. 3/5
Read 7 tweets
Brian Cathcart Profile picture
1 Feb
If Paul Dacre is made chair of Ofcom he will be responsible for standards in UK broadcasting. So how is he doing in his current job as Editor-in-Chief of Associated Newspapers? Well, Associated is currently losing legal actions over bad journalism at an extraordinary rate. 1/8
Today it settled a case brought by Prince Harry in which the Mail on Sunday falsely accused him of turning his back on responsibilities to the Marines. This could have been avoided if they had simply put the allegations to the Prince, but they didn't. 2/8
bylineinvestigates.com/mail/2021/2/1/…
Newspapers in the group, and MailOnline have also settled or lost a string of other cases in recent weeks, including:

Paying significant damages to a former Labour candidate for falsely suggesting she assisted Holocaust seniors. 3/8
skwawkbox.org/2021/01/10/exc…
Read 8 tweets
Brian Cathcart Profile picture
17 Dec 20
A Home Office report into 'grooming gangs' says 'it is likely that no one community or culture is uniquely predisposed to offending'. So where does that leave @thetimes and its rogue reporter Andrew Norfolk? 1/6 bylinetimes.com/2020/12/17/hom…
The Times insisted there was 'overwhelming evidence' of 'a deeply rooted pattern of criminal behaviour with a clear ethnic component'. But 2 years of effort by Home Office officials (plainly under pressure to prove the paper right) produced no credible evidence at all. 2/6
So there is no 'clear ethnic component'. No one can claim it is disproportionately 'a Muslim thing'. Reporter Andrew Norfolk's creation, beloved of the extreme right, turns out to be just as flawed as his discredited 'Christian girl forced into Muslim foster care' story. 3/6
Read 6 tweets
Brian Cathcart Profile picture
19 Jun 20
Thread.
You often see references on Twitter to 'the inevitable inquiry into Covid-19'. Why does anyone think that under this government a meaningful public inquiry into the pandemic is inevitable? @DavidLammy @JolyonMaugham @mikegalsworthy @EdwardJDavey @joannaccherry 1/
Johnson, Gove, Hancock, Raab etc have never shown any wish to be accountable for anything. (Re Cummings, for example.) In the case of Covid they will surely move heaven and earth to avoid effective, independent scrutiny. 2/
And since it is governments that set up inquiries they have the power simply to block an inquiry into the Covid response. You might say the demand from the public will be too strong. Well maybe, but they have already shown significant willingness to defy the public will. 3/
Read 13 tweets
Brian Cathcart Profile picture
19 Apr 20
The Sunday Times's alarming 'sleepwalking into a pandemic' report says an inquiry into what went wrong is 'inevitable'. But we need a proper inquiry – open, impartial, with full powers and with a guarantee its report will be published. And that's not inevitable, as we know. 1/
Governments can rig these things. And they can bury them. We can't let that happen with #Covid19. We need the truth about preparedness and response – if only because we will surely face more pandemics in the future and lessons need to be learned. 2/
There is a proposal on the table for a timely, impartial, powerful public inquiry outside government control. It comes from Lord Kerslake, who chaired the Manchester Arena bombing inquiry. It needs support. Political leaders should commit to it now. 3/
Read 9 tweets

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