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Political journalists at Westminster conspire with ministers’ aides to fake multiple sources for stories to give them spurious credibility.
That is the shocking claim made yesterday by a senior political journalist on The Times newspaper.
The paper’s parliamentary sketch writer, Tom Peck, says stories that purport to feature quotes from three government sources, including a Cabinet Minister, are often false.
In fact, all the quotes may well have come from a single Labour spin doctor – in collaboration with a journalist who “can then make it look as though you have spoken to three different people when you haven’t”.
Peck’s allegation in an interview for BBC Radio Four political programme, Strong Message Here, was met with disbelief by the show’s host, political satirist Armando Iannucci.
He exclaimed “Whaaat?!” in response to the disclosure.
After stating he was “loath to pull the wizard’s curtain too far back on my colleagues”, Peck went on to explain how he said it worked. If the spin doctor – or special adviser – was a “real pro”, they would “give you three different ways you can quote them”, he said.
“All the spin doctors say ‘you can quote me as a Cabinet member, you can quote me as a senior Labour source, you can quote me as a Starmer acolyte’, or what have you. It is all the same person.”
Iannucci: “And that person will give you three different quotes?” Peck: “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Totally.”
