A key official on former prime minister Tony Blair’s crew wished to edit newspapers for the “accuracy” of their reporting, in response to newly launched official paperwork.
Recordsdata launched by the Nationwide Archives present that Mr. Blair’s chief personal secretary, Jeremy Heywood (future cupboard secretary), was infuriated by stories that he thought the federal government’s actions had been false.
However his name for a “fact regulation” system was shortly rejected by Mr Blair’s advisers, who stated the trial could be “suicidal”.
Writing in August 2001, Mr. Heywood stated: “I am assuming it is unthinkable to introduce fact regulation to newspapers?
“No different business can get away with the apply of creating up tales that even our most severe newspapers are keen on.
“Is not there any nation on the earth that has a profitable newspaper enhancing mannequin?”
Ed Richards, a coverage adviser, warned in opposition to such a plan.
“Personally, I feel it is practically unattainable to regulate the form of papers you intend (and it is most likely suicidal to attempt),” he replied.
Disappointment with the press was nothing new in Mr. Blair’s interior circle.
In a presentation on a Cupboard vacation in 1998, the previous prime minister himself stated: “We’ve got a major problem with kids’s media.
“The smallest selections can flip into massive headlines. They refuse to report the essence of what you’re doing.”
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