Express v Scottish Express (cont.)

Today's Express announces a great 'triumph' for the, err, Express:


The paper says:

MPs yesterday backed the Daily Express crusade to bring more sunshine into our lives.

They voted overwhelmingly for a Bill to move clocks forward by one hour all year round – despite opposition from the Government.

It is only in the eleventh paragraph that the Express finally admits this isn't exactly the 'victory' it wants to claim. The Bill:

...now goes to committee stage for scrutiny by MPs and peers...

The Bill requires the Government to conduct a cross-departmental analysis of the potential costs and benefits.

This evidence has then to be assessed by an independent commission.

If the commission considers that the move would benefit the whole of the UK, a three-year trial will follow.

Rebecca Harris, the MP whose Private Members' Bill this is, says:

...the Bill did “not enforce an immediate change” but simply asked the Government to “take an objective, informed decision based on the best available evidence”.

Only 92 MPs voted for the Bill yesterday, and given the Government is opposed, its long term future looks less certain. Declaring 'victory' certainly appears premature.

The Sun agrees with the Express that there should be:

at least an experiment in saving Britain from Daylight Robbery.

Yet the Express' crusade does have opponents in the media. The Mail newspapers have dismissed it as a switch to 'Berlin Time'. The Express refers to this as 'claims' from 'some quarters'.

But perhaps the strongest opposition has come from 'some quarters' rather closer to home. When the Express launched it's campaign, the Scottish Express came out against it.

And today, while the south-of-the-border Express declares 'Daylight Victory', the Scottish paper says it is:


(Apparently, it's Daylight Robbery if we do change and, according to the Sun, Daylight Robbery if we don't...)

The paper says:

Controversial plans to plunge Scotland into darkness for almost half the year took a major step forward yesterday after only eight of the country’s MPs turned up for a crucial vote.

English MPs came closer to forcing through a Bill that would see British Summer Time introduced throughout the year to give families one hour more of daylight in the evenings.

Most Scots are firmly opposed as they worry about children travelling to school in darker mornings throughout much of the winter, risking more traffic accidents.

So which version of the Express will triumph? We will wait and see.

But the final word should go to Mikexxx, whose comment on the Express website takes proper account of the pros and cons of the argument:

To hell with the North especially Scotland the way they voted in the last election they should be sentenced to live in darkness.

An Express clock-up

Today's Express front page leads on the launch of a new 'crusade'.

It is a campaign about one of the big issues of the day.

Well, not really - it's a crusade to stop the clocks being put back an hour this autumn:


Here's the start of Martyn Brown's article:

The Daily Express today launches a crusade to stop Britain being plunged into early evening darkness every autumn.

The Time for Change Crusade would give us an extra hour of daylight in the evening all year.

Prime Minister David Cameron said last night he would “look at” whether Britain should turn the clocks back each year.

The Daily Express is calling on the Government to move UK time forward by an hour permanently, bringing the country into line with much of the rest of Europe.

Our crusade has already won the backing of politicians and campaigners who say longer, brighter evenings would make roads safer.

He goes on to list a small number of people and organisations who back the plan.

But another paper had a slightly different take on the issue:

David Cameron sparked fury yesterday as he agreed to consider plans to move Britain’s clocks forward by an hour all-year round.

Ah, 'fury'. Where would the tabloids be without it?

The article continues:

English MPs want the Prime Minister to introduce British Summer Time throughout the year to give families one hour more of daylight in the evenings.

But most Scots are firmly opposed as they fear children would travel to school in darker mornings throughout much of the winter, risking more traffic accidents. Tourism chiefs south of the Border back the move to bring Britain into line with most of continental Europe, saying it would boost the leisure industry...

...the move remains strongly resisted in Scotland, where it would mean that in winter, the sun would not rise until almost 10am.

The journalist, Paul Gilbride, goes on to quote a number of people opposed to the plan, including the Scottish government.

And where does Gilbride's article appear?

Err, the front page of the Scottish Daily Express:


No wonder he blames 'English MPs' for wanting the change and forgets to mention the 'crusade' by a certain newspaper...

(Hat-tips to Adam Bell and Duncan Stott for the story, and Bryan McComb for the pic of the front page)

We published 'wholly inaccurate' quotes, but it wasn't our fault

A week ago, the Scottish Daily Express published the following apology:

On June 26, 2010, we published an article on Page 9 of the Scottish Daily Express concerning the grave of ex-footballer Colin Hendry’s late wife, Denise.

Quotes attributed to former friend Hector McFarlane, commenting on funeral arrangements and a headstone for Mrs Hendry’s grave, were supplied to us by Watson’s, a Blackpool-based news agency and used by us in good faith.

We now accept the comments attributed to Mr McFarlane were wholly inaccurate.

We apologise to Mr McFarlane and his family for any distress the article may have caused.

Once again, we see a paper blaming someone else for a cock-up so as to divert attention from the fact they didn't bother checking the story before they published it.

(The original article has been removed but a cached version is here. A response from Hendry, denying the claims, was published a couple of days later)