Jeremy Corbyn’s 104-second rant on the free press is being ignored by the mainstream media, who is refusing to run the tirade. The Labour leader lashed out following accusations that he had supplied a Czech spy with intelligence.
“In the last few days The Sun, The Mail, The Telegraph and The Express have gone a little bit James Bond,” Corbyn said on Twitter. Then a word of warning followed from the UK opposition leader: “Change is coming.”
According to the Sun, the BBC, Sky News, ITV News and Channel 4 News all declined to broadcast any of the video in their news bulletins, furious that the Labour leader is refusing to do interviews over the Soviet spy accusations. The Sun cheekily omitted the fact that they were at the front of the pack, leading the charge against Corbyn and his alleged stint as a Czechoslovakian informant.
A broadcast source told The Sun: “If Corbyn wants to make a point, he must make himself available for scrutiny at the same time. We’re not going to carry propaganda for him.”
Calling out Corbyn publicly on Twitter (Jez’s preferred method of soapbox) ITV News’ Political Editor, Robert Peston, posted: “If he really wanted to challenge them, why isn’t he doing TV interviews on it, given our impartiality?”
When the claims emerged about Corbyn’s supposed dealings with former Cold War Czechoslovak agent Jan Sarkocy, a Labour spokesman said that: “the claim that Jeremy Corbyn was an agent, asset or informer for any intelligence agency is entirely false and a ridiculous smear."