Robert Peston was forced to issue a grovelling apology yesterday after erroneously claiming Boris Johnson’s ethics adviser resigned over a proposal to promote Conservative-affiliated businesses.
The ITV News political editor’s statement to his 1.2 million Twitter followers yesterday prompted a protest from No 10 to his bosses.
Lord Geidt quit after being asked to accept ‘tariffs being imposed to aid firms with ties to the Conservative Party or politicians,’ he wrote.
Following the publishing of Lord Geidt’s resignation letter, Mr Peston, 62, first tweeted at 11:47 a.m.
After being asked for advice on a ‘deliberate and purposeful infringement’ of the ministerial code, the peer said he resigned as the Prime Minister’s advisor on ministerial interests.
Downing Street yesterday declined to comment on reports from Whitehall insiders that this was tied to a proposal to keep tariffs on Chinese steel in place despite the fact that it may be in violation of Britain’s WTO commitments.
‘The only inference to be taken is that Geidt was requested to authorize tariffs being imposed to aid corporations with ties to the Conservative Party or ministers,’ Mr Peston tweeted in response to Lord Geidt’s letter.
According to a government source, Geidt’s request had nothing to do with ministerial or party objectives.
‘However, the Prime Minister’s claim that he requested ethics guidance on whether the UK would break WTO standards is, to put it bluntly, perplexing.
The rule is all about ministerial integrity, not whether tariffs imposed in the name of the national interest are legal or not.
‘It appears that Geidt was asked for his opinion on whether the steel sector in the United Kingdom should be protected from suspected unfair competition from China.’ But why does Geidt’s point of view matter? So strange.’
Mr Peston, on the other hand, was obliged to make a humiliating retreat barely four hours later.
‘I apologize for my incorrect terminology and getting it wrong in the tweet below,’ he added.
‘A conceivable conclusion to be drawn…’ should have been used instead of ‘the only conclusion to be drawn…’
‘I made a blunder, and it wasn’t the first or last time. ‘Please accept my apologies (not for the first or last time).’
‘There is an issue for ITV as to whether they are okay putting their authority behind his pontificating on Twitter – it must be harmful to their brand,’ a Whitehall insider said.
‘Peston is a wonderful illustration of the ‘Remainia’ that continues to hinder certain journalists from just reporting facts,’ Tory MP Mark Jenkinson said last night.
‘Red Wall’ is a song about a wall that is red in color ‘Peston is a really terrible journalist who upsets the heck out of people in districts like Ashfield,’ Tory MP Lee Anderson remarked (in Nottinghamshire).
On many levels, he is plainly out of touch, but we all know he is a part of the media witch hunt to get rid of Boris.’
Mr Peston accused the PM of ‘astonishing’ and ‘laughable’ behavior over new rules allowing Britain to ignore portions of the Northern Ireland protocol in a series of tweets on Monday.
After tweeting that keeping the PM in office after Partygate would make Britain seem like a ‘elected dictatorship,’ he was accused of violating ITV’s commitment to maintain political neutrality.
The communications regulator Ofcom does not regulate TV journalists’ social media posts, but ITV and ITN’s policies require ‘appropriate impartiality.’
The broadcasters’ representative declined to say if they had talked to Mr Peston or disciplined him.
However, according to an ITN source, he’simply edited a tweet that he could see had been misconstrued.’
‘It’s not unusual for journalists to clarify their positions on Twitter, and that looks to be the case here,’ they noted.