(h/t StewGreen)
This is a good start to the New Year. Paddy O'Connell is promising to correct his mistake about Lord Adonis on next week's Broadcasting House. If he also credits John Longworth for being correct in that apology, it would be admirable behaviour indeed.
Sorry to be a New Year curmudgeon but I don't think that is good enough. This is Bias by Obfuscation, as pioneered Dimbleby. It was, I believe, deliberate in the same way that Dimbelby's seemingly innocent rhetorical obfuscations are deliberate. I have no doubt O'Connell had Longworth down as a target. That's why he was so eager to intervene with a Dimbelby style querying of his accuracy on the non-elected status of Adonis and why he sounded so pig-headedly sure of himself. A factual correction seven days after the event won't be good enough. He needs to apologise not for the factual inaccuracy but for having derailed the debate completely by appearing to show Longworth to be an untrustworthy contributor.
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