MEDIA STUDIES
Messrs Blair and Campbell didn't know about the gay sex? Then why this call from a Whitehall lawyer?
STEPHEN GLOVER
One extraordinary fact concerning the Ron Davies affair has gone almost unno- ticed. In last Thursday's Sun, at the end of the paper's front-page piece about the for- mer Welsh Secretary, there was this buried bombshell. 'The government tried to fright- en newspapers off as Mr Davies's resigna- tion became public. The Sun received a call from a government lawyer threatening action if any reference was made to gay sex. The lawyer claimed he was acting on the PM's orders and said: "Any suggestion of homosexual activity will result in an imme- diate writ."' To its credit, the Sun ignored this threat, which came from a certain Alan Steele in the office of the Treasury Solicitor. It was received last Tuesday evening, the day of Mr Davies's unexplained resignation. In common with other papers, who may have been telephoned by the same lawyer, the Sun touched upon the possibility of gay sex in its issue the following day, and it has been upping the ante ever since. Plainly the idea of a writ is now nonsensical since the allegation of gay sex has been repeated by every media organisation. But that it should have been in the government's mind at such an early stage is illuminating.
It gives the lie to the notion that Tony Blair, his press secretary, Alastair Campbell, and other assembled sages did not have the foggiest idea as to what Mr Davies had been up to on Clapham Common. They feared the allegation of gay sex even before it had been made. And having registered this fear they — or the Treasury Solicitor acting on their behalf — made the decision to try to put a lid on the story. This was a crazy piece of news management. It was also an act of bullying and gross intimidation.
Has the Sun's love affair with Peter Mandelson ended? For weeks the newspa- per has been showering the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry with compli- ments. Last Thursday there was a seismic development. I'm not referring to Matthew Parris's assertion on BBC2's Newsnight that Mr Mandelson is gay. What may have marked the end of the affair was the Trade Secretary's decision to refer BskyB's bid for Manchester United to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.
BskyB is 40 per cent owned by Rupert Murdoch, and controlled by the tycoon. The Sun is a Murdoch paper. In the way of these things, the boys who work for it thought they might oil the wheels if they were particularly nice to Mr Mandelson. Actually, the paper has for some time had a soft spot for Mr Mandelson, possibly because he is close to Elizabeth Murdoch, Rupert's daughter, who is managing direc- tor of BskyB. In a sense Mr Mandelson is almost part of the family. On the other hand, he is an enthusiast for the euro, which the Sun abominates.
However, all reservations had to be aban- doned when BskyB bid for Manchester United in early September. Mr Mandelson was the minister upon whose decision the outcome of the bid might depend. In its big-hearted way, the Sun thought the best way forward was to say that Mr Mandelson was the best thing since sliced bread, and to go on saying it as often as possible.
On 18 September the paper congratulat- ed Mr Mandelson for his speech at the TUC which 'told them straight'. It could not resist giving him another little puff for his brave words the next day. On 24 September it devoted an entire leader — admittedly not very long in the Sun — to extolling the Trade Secretary. 'Well done, Mandy,' the paper said, before offering a quick résumé of his various achievements. `He's clearly the best Mandelson for the jobs.' On 2 October, after Mr Mandelson had made some apparently disparaging remarks about 'working-class, northern, horny-handed and dirty-overalled' MPs, the Sun leapt to his defence, 'You've got to admire the man's style.'
And so on. What the paper thought it could achieve by its flattery is not clear. A child of five could have predicted that Mr Mandelson would have to refer BskyB's widely unpopular bid for Manchester Unit- ed to the Monopolies and Mergers Com- mission, particularly since the Office of Fair Trading foresaw competition difficul- ties. His close friendship with Elizabeth Murdoch made things even more compli- 'I answered Ron Davies's prayer for more publicity.' cated for him. Mr Mandelson is nothing if not a politician, and the last thing he want- ed was the non-Murdoch press and Manch- ester United fans going on the rampage if he failed to refer the bid. The outcome was virtually a foregone conclusion.
Curiously, on the morning after his announcement the Sun carried a leader which accepted Mr Parris's assertion that Mr Mandelson is a homosexual and went on to pronounce that `the old-fashioned gay-bashing is over'. It supported Mr Man- delson but not quite in the old loving way. On the same day Mr Murdoch, who was in London, criticised the government for its decision. `It is very hard . . . that we should be punished for the fact that we supported the government in the last election,' he said. 'To be influenced by a few paranoid hacks in Fleet Street is ridiculous.' But after this swipe at that part of the Fourth Estate that he does not control, Mr Mur- doch was quick to exonerate Mr Mandel- son. He did not blame him 'in the least'.
What is going on?. I think that the Sun leader about homosexuals, and Mr Niur- doch's comments, amount to a sort of coded warning. The big boss was coming to town, and he was telling his associate, Mr Mandelson, that he might be disappointed with his mates but he hadn't given up 00 him. Was he with him or not? The truth is that Mr Mandelson does represent the most important channel between New Labour and News International, and Mr Murdoch doesn't want to lose him. On the other hand, if Mr Mandelson is never going to co-operate, Mr Murdoch will have to get shot of him.
That is how it will end. Mr Mandelson won't be able to deliver very much. The Monopolies and Mergers Commission may well rule against BskyB. Meanwhile the government's growing infatuation for the euro, led by Mr Mandelson, is bound to aggravate the Sun and Mr Murdoch. Mt Mandelson was wrong ever to believe that he could convert Mr Murdoch to the euro cause. On Tuesday the Sun carried a Pic- ture on its front page of Mr Mandelson Gordon Brown under the headline `Outed'. The story was that the two ministers had revealed themselves as `a couple of raving euro fanatics'. The presentation was rather jocular, but things will get more bitter. We will be seeing fewer 'Mandy is great' lead- ers in the Sun.
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