Events | 2008.12.26
Hugh Muir's diary
• As the pound lurches towards parity with the euro, it is crystal clear that no corner will be untouched by the financial woes now upon us. Everyone must tighten their belts. And the new realities are having a particularly depressing effect on life at the Times, where reporters have been told that their expenses are too big and that they are using too many taxis. If you need to get somewhere quickly, consider a bike, a memo says. No Murdoch cycles have been supplied but keen types will deploy their own and, in the circumstances, the expenses will be generous. Once the model was Woodward and Bernstein. Now it is Chris Hoy.
• No doubt Sir Michael Scholar embarrassed the government with his explosive evidence about the Home Office and its manipulation of statistics on knife crime - days later, there was Jacqui Smith standing at the dispatch box, apologising for riding roughshod over the official statisticians. One-nil to Sir Michael, chair of the UK Statistics Authority. And he took no pleasure from it all, despite the fact that his son Tom was chief of staff at No 10 until knifed by Gordon and the PM\'s fixer at the time, Stephen Carter, who was then - as is the way - knifed himself. Sir Michael took no pleasure at all because he\'s a brilliant professional. It was work. Just work.
• Twenty seven MPs have now raised their voices against the Today programme\'s hamfisted axing of Ed Stourton. "Edward Stourton should not be sacked," insists Peter Bottomley for the Tories. "Whoever did it this way should be sacked," says Labour\'s Ann Cryer. Meanwhile the Facebook group "Keep Edward Stourton on Today" becomes more popular with almost 700 members, including a contribution from one Huw Edwards - although not the Huw Edwards, we are assured. Emails are also rolling in to the programme\'s website (today.programme@bbc.co.uk). It\'s getting ugly. Our reader Meryl Moore is mad as hell, though she says: "I won\'t come up to London and chain myself to railings or anything of that sort - too old, dodgy knee." For all that, she articulates the people\'s rage. Are you listening BBC?
• Listen to Ed, for now he\'s in a ridiculous position. "There\'s an editorial difficulty when the BBC has so publicly demonstrated that it does not want me in the job," he tells the latest edition of the in-house mag, Ariel. "When you ask a risky question - which is what we do on Today - you have to feel the BBC is behind you." They are right behind you. Take cover.
• High excitement for President Sarkozy on Tuesday as he addressed the European parliament, and a momentous occasion as the French EU presidency comes to an end. By tradition, the head of state has his place in Strasbourg on desk number 2 and this has always sufficed for everyone else - but things were different this time, for the president apparently balked at the idea of presenting his report standing behind a number 2 and thus it was removed. He\'s number 1 until January. Lest we forget.
• A month now until the inauguration of Barack Obama. Soon after, the return of Jonathan Ross. Both events have us excited. Barack has attracted many plaudits - yesterday it was Time magazine\'s Person of the Year - but still cleverer folk than us are worried. "I worked in television for more than a decade, often reading autocue while a director spoke in my ear telling me what cameras to look at," one pronounces. "I know, therefore, the difference between artificial autocue delivery and body language and talking from the heart without a script. Obama, I repeat, is coming from the autocue, not the heart." David Icke sees Obama as more dangerous than Bush (because he is smarter), and potentially as dangerous as Hitler. So why are we more worried about David Icke?
• Finally, disappointment at Coventry University, where "Unfortunately, Professor Malcolm Woollard\'s Christmas lecture on the subject Paramedics: Kiss of Life or Kiss of Death? has had to be cancelled due to ill health." The kiss of man flu, apparently. That\'s serious - be kind.
diary@guardian.co.uk
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