Category Archives: Fake News

The truth about the ‘desecration’ of a children’s memorial by HS2…

21 Saturday Nov 2020

Posted by in Fake News, Hs2, Railways

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There’s an old saying that ‘a lie is halfway around the world before the truth has got its boots on’ – and this is never truer than when it comes to stories planted in the media by opponents of the HS2 high-speed railway that’s currently under construction.

Here’s the latest example, which is a tale about a memorial woodland outside Wendover in Buckinghamshire.

The story was planted by a young lady from East Devon, one Beth Mahoney. Here it is;

Sounds awful, doesn’t it? Needless to say, it soon got picked up elsewhere and amplified and exaggerated even more. Reading it, you’d think that HS2 contractors had just turned up out of the blue and bulldozed all the trees, memorials and (alleged) children’s ashes to make way for the new railway. After all, the story contains all the right elements to cause outrage in certain circles: Death, children – and trees.

One of the people who helped amplify this story and the sense of outrage was none other than ‘celebrity’ environmentalist, Chris Packham (who’s relationship with the truth is always questionable when it comes to HS2) who tweeted this.

So, what’s the truth? Let’s go back to the beginning, shall we? This is the announcement from the hospice about the establishment of the memorial wood.

Note, this is a memorial woodland. It is not (and never has been) a cemetery. No-one is interred there and if anyone has scattered ashes there, then they have done so without official sanction. Nor is it specifically about children.

Why did no-one know this work was happening, as is claimed? The truth is – they did – and they’ve known for years. Here’s a rather revealing story in the local rag, the Bucks Herald from May 2019. It’s headlined…

The end of the article carries this rather revealing response from HS2 Ltd.

So, the memorial isn’t being bulldozed at all and the hyperbole about ‘desecration’ is just that. Yes, it’s unfortunate that services have to be diverted through a small part of the memorial wood, but compared to (say) exhuming graveyards, this is on a very different scale.

Funnily enough, the Bucks Herald seems to have suffered a strange bout of amnesia about their 2019 article when they published this new one on the 19th November. Its headline?

Notice two things. One, the old newspaper trick that – you can claim any old cobblers as long as you put it in inverted commas! Two, suddenly the memorial wood has become exclusively “a memorial site for children” The rag goes on to interview parents of a child who sadly died, who are quoted as saying ;

“If HS2 needed to use the site, they could have dealt with the matter sensitively, making sure that the families of the children whose memorials were there were given the opportunity to dig up their trees and remove their memorial stones.”

Hang on a minute? How would HS2 Ltd know which families are linked to the memorial woods? It’s not a cemetery remember, and the only people who would know anything about deaths at the hospice is – the hospice. So, did the hospice know this work was going to happen? Of course they did – as is revealed here.

This is the Facebook page of the Aylesbury and District news from the 6th January. It contains this page.

Once again, note ‘those who’ve died’ Not ‘children who’ve died’ And the entry underneath is?

Out of interest I contacted HS2 Ltd about some of these claims.

They told me that they gave the landowner and the hospice a month’s notice before they took possession of the woodland (notified 17th September, possession took place on 20th October). Their understanding is that the hospice sent out correspondence to all known donors on 20th September advising of the possession and the works They also told me that the public notice published on the HS2 community website that covers the area does confirm on page two under “preparation works” that trees will be cut down.

Now, I’m not in any way casting any aspersions on the Hospice here. It seems they’re completely innocent parties in this manufactured row and mischief making by others cynically using any stick they can find (or invent) to beat HS2 with – and damn the truth!

So what is the truth? Well, it’s that a small section of the memorial wood has had to be dug up to divert utilities. Once the work is done, new trees will be planted and the memorial woodland restored. It’s unfortunate, but it’s very different to the distorted picture being painted. The fact is, 85% of the woodland is still intact, as was reveled by this local resident on Twitter.

My problem with all this – apart from the obvious lies and distortions – is the way some people are stoking up a climate of hate against HS2 and anyone who works for it. People working on HS2 construction sites already have to deal with abuse and harassment from protesters, some have even been followed back to their hotels, but accusing them of ‘desecrating’ a children’s memorial has hit a new low. How long before a poor HS2 worker is attacked by some idiot fired up by stories like this?

It’s about time some sections of the media started telling the truth – and some ‘celebrity environmentalists’ too for that matter…

UPDATE:

Since I wrote this blog, new information has come to light which (yet again) exposes the hype and hyperbole behind this story. The information comes via ‘Planet Radio’ and you can view it in this link. The headline?

The article contains a statement from Tracey Hancock, Director of Fundraising for the hospice, part of which explains this..

Rennie Grove Hospice Care and the landowner were given a month’s notice of HS2’s intention to take possession of the land on 20 October 2020. Rennie Grove wrote to every family recorded as having a tree in the woodland to let them know that the area would be out of bounds after this date. The charity has since become aware of one family who did not receive their letter and who subsequently visited the woodland to find the tree planted in memory of their daughter and a memorial stone they had also placed by it were no longer there.

A spokesperson for HS2 was also quoted, saying this;

“We informed the Hospice and the landowner a month in advance, providing them with time to notify the families and friends of the deceased who may have wanted to remove any fixed items before work started.”

Despite the truth now being out, watch the tiny bunch of protesters who still think they can stop HS2 exploit bereaved families and the Hospice for their own ends and drag this out for their own propaganda purposes. This cynical attempt to exploit the issue is being circulated on various anti HS2 Facebook pages – and during the Covid lockdown too!

UPDATE. December 2022.

So, what’s happened to the wood, more than two years later? It’s still there as anyone looking at the area on Google maps can see.

Local sources tell me that the memorial stones that disappeared were due to a local person removing them for ‘safekeeping’ but neglecting to inform anyone! All the hype, distortions and misinformation never stopped HS2 of course. Now construction in the Wendover area is well underway and the protests have collapsed, but the wood remains.

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The truth is out there…

10 Tuesday Dec 2019

Posted by in Fake News, Politics

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It’s just very difficult to find it…

I’m posting this in response to the flood of ‘fake news’ on social media such as Facebook and Twitter because it’s important we search for the truth. This isn’t even party political. This is about fake news – whoever promotes it.

You may well have seen a lot of stuff trying to discredit the story of a 4-year old boy in a Leeds hospital. Well, here’s the detailed explanation and verification of the facts from James Mitchinson, the Editor of the Yorkshire Post, written in response to a woman who’d been taken in by the fakes and contacted him.

“Margaret (forgive my using your first name but I am loath to guess at your title for fear of getting it wrong).

Thank you for your email and thank you for being one of our loyal weekend readers. So much time, effort and talent goes into putting the weekend package together that it is always nice to know there are people out there who value it.

Forgive my doing this, but I do feel it is important to respond as you would expect me to as the editor of one of the most trusted newspapers in the country.

The story was first published by the Yorkshire Evening Post after the mother – Sarah – contacted us directly;

Because it is irresponsible – and reckless – to take one person’s word and take it as fact, we immediately checked the veracity of the assertion with the hospital. That’s not a boast, by the way, just bog-standard journalism;

The hospital itself confirmed the set of circumstances you read in our story were and are correct;

The Chief Medical Officer for Leeds Teaching Hospitals – Dr Yvette Oade – accepted the situation had occurred and offered an explanation as to why. The principal reason given for what happened to Jack was demand outstripped capacity. They were overrun;

The Chief Executive, Julian Hartley, confirmed their ordeal had taken place. He offered a personal apology to Sarah and to Jack whilst backing the staff at LGI who are absolutely giving their all, but cannot cope with the sheer number of people needing their help.

So, as you can see, we went to great lengths to establish the story was true and to check that the hospital accepted as much. I do not blame you for contacting me as you have done. You are not the only one to have seen the Sheree Jenner-Hepburn Facebook post – amongst thousands of others very similar in nature – and believed it to be true. What we are dealing with is quite simply: a very poorly little boy in a place that cannot give him the care he needs and as a result a mother reaching out for help. They are the ones that really matter, here.

As I say, I am not surprised you have been misled by that post. But, if you’ll bear with me, I offer you this:

That account has now disappeared. Our accounts are still here and you can hold me and my journalists to account;

You have no way of holding Sheree to account, nor checking her words. She’s a stranger to you. You don’t even know if it is a real person, so why do you trust her claim over the newspaper you’ve taken for years, in good faith?;

Sheree – robot or human – did not offer a credible source. The words a ‘good friend of mine’ adds warmth and humanity to the post in order to dupe others into believing her words are credible. They are not, as far as anyone can tell. I attach below a screengrab of multiple accounts who also claim to have a ‘good friend’ at LGI. It simply isn’t credible or true. Again, the words are manufactured very carefully and cynically in order to mislead;

I also attach for your interest several accounts claiming to be ‘a former paediatric nurse’ – the accounts are fakes. All make the same claim, using the same wording.

Margaret, it may well be that those who will benefit the most by breaking the bond of trust you have with the likes of The Yorkshire Post and Yorkshire Evening Post have already won, but I urge you to consider which news source you can get in touch with. Who is willing to look you in the eye and tell you they did their best to get it right versus those who pop up on Facebook, spout something so compelling that others share it, and with that undermine the truth and discombobulate decent citizens.

I would be more than happy to meet you over a coffee or such to offer you an explanation as to how sophisticated and corrosive the proliferation of fake news is, and what you can do to guard against being conned by it. Only – of course – if that is not patronising (I absolutely do not mean it to be) and welcome. However, if you no longer trust your Yorkshire Post – and I will be frustrated and disappointed if these people had wrecked your confidence in this historic champion for the county – contact the hospital directly. Whatever you do, do not believe a stranger on social media who disappears into the night.

Very best wishes to you and your family ahead of the festive period.

James“

You’ll find James at @JayMitchinson, where the story of the disinformation continues to unfold, like this tweet about Sheree Jenner-Hepburn, whose Facebook account started spreading the disinformation.

The Guardian newspaper has more here.

The plot thickens…

Another Stophs2 (fake) storm in a teacup!

17 Friday Aug 2018

Posted by in Anti Hs2 mob, Carillion, Fake News, Hs2, Lazy journalism

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Sometimes it’s fake news that causes problems, sometimes it’s lazy journalism and other times it’s people who are either utterly incapable of reading and understanding factual material or who twist it to suit their own ends.

The latest storm in a teacup over Hs2 has elements of all this. Here’s the straight story as reported by Rail Technology Magazine.

“The former boss of Carillion’s UK infrastructure business is set to take over Balfour Beatty Vinci to lead its HS2 joint venture.” His name is Mark Davies, which is pretty easy to remember. He’s had a 30 plus year career in the Civils industry and joined Carillion after its acquisition of Alfred McAlpine in 2004. His correct title was Managing Director – Carillion Infrastructure, one of the divisions of the company.

As Carillion imploded in spectacular and controversial fashion, Mr Davies has obviously had some time on his hands, leading him to being recruited by the Joint Venture.

This is where the fun starts. In a combination of lazy journalism, mischief making and downright lies, Mr Davies has been spun as the ‘boss’ of Carillion, taking over at Hs2 itself. It’s complete tosh of course, but those who’re opposed to Hs2 are spinning like tops to make out this is the case. There’s a couple of rather major flaws with their story. Mr Davies was never the ‘boss’ of Carillion. He was never even on the Board of Directors!

The ‘boss’ (or bosses to be more precise) of Carillion when it collapsed were the chairman, Philip Green, along with Keith Cochrane who became its Interim Chief Executive on the 10th July 2017, a position he retained until the company went into liquidation in January 2018.

Whilst the Chairman and the Board of Directors have been quizzed by Parliamentary Committees and been criticised for their actions. I’ve not seen anything to suggest Mr Davies has been accused of anything. Not that this has stopped Hs2 antis trying to smear by association – as usual!

As for the ludicrous claims that he’s been made ‘boss’ of Hs2 –  I despair! He’s the MD of a joint venture that’s won an HS2 construction contract, nothing more, nothing less.

Still, facts eh?