Paul Waugh makes a realistic case that it was Cameron wot did it:
"There is a credible case for saying that it was the Conservative leader's intervention in the row on Tuesday that was the most significant trigger to real action.
By stepping into the controversy and making clear he shared the views of the public, Cameron in turn forced the Prime Minister to speak out. Once Brown (who was very reluctant to get involved) had spoken, the Beeb knew it could no longer get away with its shaky defence and DG Mark Thompson finally roused himself to act.
Cameron's decision to speak out wasn't just smart politics. It perhaps underlined his frustration that he had been ambushed by Ross on his programme two years ago. Many will remember Ross's asking the Tory leader whether he masturbated over a photo of Margaret Thatcher. I call myself pretty broadminded, but even I was appalled that Ross had coarsened a mainstream TV channel in a way that would be barely acceptable in a pub bar.
Cameron was clearly uncomfortable, but was keenly aware that if he over-reacted at the time he could lose the younger demographic of Ross's show. He didn't really have any choice in saying he would go on the show again - as Opposition leader who would want to boycott a prog that reaches millions?"
PS Our view is that Paul now writes the best blog from a Westminster Village journalist. Add it to your favourites!
PPS Paul; you must change that photo of you... it doesn't do you any favours :-)
Yes, well done
Now let's get on to the real issue - THE ECONOMY..
Some victories on this issue wouldn't go a miss...
I now we live in a vacuous, celebrity obsessed world but does this have to seep into politics?
Posted by: Northern Tory | October 31, 2008 at 10:32
Let us bow down before the greatness that is called Cam.
Posted by: Henry Mayhew - ukipper | October 31, 2008 at 10:38
Cameron knew exactly what he was getting into when he went on Ross's show. He can't really complain about the consequences. If this really was a vendetta, as "the best blog from a Westminster Village" suggests, then Cameron is completely unqualified to be prime minister. You can't base policy on personal grudges.
I think, or at least hope, it wasn't a grudge. Every Cameron does is informed by weathervane opportunism, and this was no exception.
At the very most, those politicians whose brief is the media should have been involved. The fact that Cameron's intervention brought Brown is even worse.
Posted by: resident leftie | October 31, 2008 at 10:44
PPS Paul; you must change that photo of you... it doesn't do you any favours :-)
Especially alongside the Body Works ad. The whole thing is very Halloween.
Posted by: Saltmaker | October 31, 2008 at 10:50
What if this non-story never ends, it's going to be frontpage news from now until the end of eternity, no longer will the media give any news except some comment on this story.
November 5th will no longer be a celebration of paliament over the bad catholics but will be remembered for the day that Ross and Brand were burned on a huge bonfire in the middle of TV centre, live on The One Show, the fire kept alight for days with BBC controllers jumping on as they receive complaints for lighting a fire before the watershed (think of the children), without any carbon capture or without all the 'i's dotted on the correct H&S form.
Posted by: Norm Brainer | October 31, 2008 at 10:52
I thought that Cameron's intervention might have had something to do with his own experience of Jonathan Ross but hoped not. The Thatcher comment really backfired on Ross at the time and if Cameron had had a problem with it the right thing to have done would have been to have complained and asked for the interview to be dropped or edited - of course this would have had adverse consequences for Cameron but if it is a matter of principle as to what should be shown on the BBC they should have been taken.
In the end the "furore" (which seems to have not been generated by people who actually listened to the show when it went out) looks more like a Max Clifford-engineered promotional stunt for Ms Baillie's career and I don't see it as having merited the intervention of Cameron or Brown. Jeremy Hunt's comments on Today yesterday were good and measured and really no more was needed.
Will Cameron now be saying that the newspapers ought not to publish their lurid photos and stories about Ms Baillie (characteristically the Mail story on Monday was accompanied by several photos of her in burlesque- is this less hurtful to Andrew Sachs than a silly prank call that a dozen or so people complained about at the time)?
Posted by: Angelo Basu | October 31, 2008 at 10:56
No I'm afraid Paul is being naive.
Brown wanted to keep this going for his own reasons ie keep financial news off the front pages.
The main trigger for the suspension is the the fact Associated Newspapers wouldn't let it lie (I guess Paul can't say that)
And DC was definitely not bothered by the Ross interview so thee is no question of revenge. It was relatively small beer.
Posted by: watcher | October 31, 2008 at 11:00
And the Parliamentary debate on Brown's "£500 billion bank bailout" is when?
Posted by: Richard North | October 31, 2008 at 11:09
I think Brown and Cameron didn't want the economy to lead the news, as neither has anything to say.
Off topic - Wag the Dog is an excellent movie.
Posted by: will.b | October 31, 2008 at 11:09
One of the reasons why the newspapers have leapt on this is that all the stories about recession were depressing readers and depressing sales.
Posted by: Tim Montgomerie | October 31, 2008 at 11:13
Its great to see one of the most senior politicians in our country speaking out over a moral issue. The sort of leadership we need to see more of. We've got to move away from the idea that moralizing is a bad thing. It is a good thing, it keeps us conscious of our slipping standards and makes us better people.
Posted by: Tony Makara | October 31, 2008 at 11:17
Tim, and this stuff is supposed to cheer us up?
Posted by: Edward Huxley | October 31, 2008 at 11:17
No it was not. It was we, the ordinary decent people of this country, who forced the issue against the BBC establishment.
No, for God's sake will the Tory high command please start working up some credible policies about what they would do about the economy (and defence, energy, education, etc.) should they form the next government.
Posted by: David_at_Home | October 31, 2008 at 11:18
Great scalp for Cameron - I hear that Mr Burns in the Simpsons is a really evil man, why not go for him as well. After that Cameron could select which books he wants burning and then ban some degenerate art.
Posted by: Chips of Brookfield | October 31, 2008 at 11:19
Even on this story the headlines adopted by the papers were "Brown condemns TV prank", etc. David Cameron actually has something to say on any issue you put to him (see the new book Cameron on Cameron), but it has just gone mostly under-reported of late.
With regards to the economy, he has to be careful about what he is able to promise by the next election - by which time the country will probably be in an even worse state. Any responsible person in his position would also take this wise and cautious approach.
Posted by: Votedave | October 31, 2008 at 11:20
I made a comment about this story 2 days ago on Biased BBC
Posted by: Sid Deeky | October 31, 2008 at 12:07
I've decided to shun British media for the time being, all this Brand/Ross/Russian stuff has been so over the top that it's embarrassing. Even Fox News has better coverage of the important world events at the moment....
Posted by: YMT | October 31, 2008 at 12:52
What goes round comes round. After spending the past weeks giving George Osborne, and belatedly, Mandelson a good kicking, what did the BBC expect when their incompetent managers failed to take action and presented politicians and the media with an open goal?
Many licence-payers are fed up to the teeth funding an organisation that is institutionally incapable of objective reporting, and of paying the salaries of performers whose egos far outweigh their talent.
This debacle should provide Mark Thompson with the opportunity to cull layers of overpaid bureaucrats, but we all know this is not going to happen. Instead we will have more hand-wringing, editorial guidelines and, perhaps, courses in preventing bully-ing for all production staff.
This latest saga may prove to be the straw that has broken the back of the public's tolerance of being patronised by those who think they know better. It is time the Tory party grasped the nettle and proposed that the BBC be privatised; let them all take their chances in the marketplace, most wouldn't last five minutes.
Posted by: mack | October 31, 2008 at 12:58
Mmm, not proven, or even 'on the balance of judgement' in my view. Cameron's media operation is just simply very quick to react to developing stories. By appearing on the JR show he notched up some younger votes, by calling for action he notched up a few daily mail reader votes. They don't need to be mutually exclusive. I think its just a case of good media management.
Posted by: Oberon Houston | October 31, 2008 at 13:14
Paul's analysis is an interesting one - and yes, his is a great blog - but I wonder whether he isn't crediting the Cameron intervention with too much influence. The real drivers in the campaign against Ross and Brand and the BBC were Waugh's own employers at Associated, via their Daily Mail outlet, and Rupert Murdoch's Sun, and it is no surprise that both these proprietor's have long-standing commercial reasons for wanting to damage the BBC. The weather-vane politicians merely followed the tabloid lead here.
Incidentally, Waugh also provides an excellent comment on Richard Galpin's BBC interview with a squirming Mandelson, here:
http://waugh.standard.co.uk/2008/10/mandelsons-news.html
Posted by: GM | October 31, 2008 at 13:17
Was Ross the first to publicly declare Cameron a Tosser.He's certainly been SORTED now.
Whatever did happen to that imaginative and hip web Tory site aimed at yoof?Has it been replaced with 'Gideon will fix it(the Economy that is)'
Posted by: michael mcgough | October 31, 2008 at 13:22
Complete and utter nonsense.
It was 30 000 licence payers wot did it, not the golden boy of the chattering classes.
Posted by: Mr Angry | October 31, 2008 at 14:58
it probably was Cameron , he's not been doing much else lately !
Posted by: gezmond007 | October 31, 2008 at 15:57
Was it Cameron who triggered the suspension of Ross?
No, don't be so silly
Posted by: Simon Hutchinson | October 31, 2008 at 21:21
And this matters because ...
Posted by: Helen | November 01, 2008 at 00:04
Complete and utter nonsense.
It was 30 000 licence payers wot did it, not the golden boy of the chattering classes.
How many of them listened to the damn program? Not all programs are for all people. Bloody Daily Mail and its whining readers. You can take your moral panic and stick it. These corrosive attacks on the BBC must stop.
Posted by: Resident Leftie | November 01, 2008 at 12:18