How Murdoch hack Isabel Oakeshott cold-bloodedly sold out her friend for money

(no it’s not satire – it’s a Murdoch hack)

I’ve just finished reading through the email exchanges between Chris Huhne’s ex-wife Vicky Pryce and the Sunday Times.

To me, they reveal a breathtakingly cold-hearted, manipulative woman who would do anything to get her own way.

No I’m not talking about Vicky Pryce – I’m talking about Times hack, Isabel Oakeshott.

The jury decided Vicky Pryce wasn’t forced into taking her then husband’s speeding points. Which – if you think about it – means she willingly took them.

Well it might technically be against the law – but surely being willing to take your own spouse’s points to help him or her out would be considered to be a pretty honourable thing to do outside a court room?

No – the really interesting thing to me revealed by the emails is the ruthlessness, disloyalty and downright dishonesty of someone who wasn’t even accused of anything herself. Isabel Oakeshott.

In the email correspondence – which can be seen here – the Sunday Times political editor Isabel Oakeshott underhandedly cajoles and – like a slippery snake oil saleswoman – ‘advises’ her so-called ‘friend’ Vicky Price to drop the Mail on Sunday for what she calls ‘a more respectable paper’, for example the Sunday Times.

Which just happens to be the newspaper she works for.

As part of her oily attempt to hook her friend, Oakshott also casually drops into the correspondence that Vicky could be in line for a seat in the House of Lords. This is significant because Isabel’s cousin is Lib Dem peer Lord Oakeshott – who Vicky might presume has some inside knowledge of such ideas.

I would guess this is what is known technically in journalism as ‘a lie’.

Oakshott also amazingly ‘advises’ her ‘friend’ that the likelihood of being convicted for taking the points was very small.

Ms Pryce would have been feeling very vulnerable at the time  and she would have presumed advice from a ‘friend’ and journalist who had full legal access to Murdoch’s legal resources would be reliable.

This is what is known technically in journalism as ‘bullshit’.

The truth is that reading the emails made me feel sick to the stomach at how someone can so cold-heartedly sell out her friend just to further her own career.

Mind you – I shouldn’t be so surprised. In the emails, Oakshott goes on at some length about how terrible tabloids like the News of The World are with their chequebook journalism.

Well she should know. Everyone else knows that Murdoch rags like the Times are just like the Sun and the News of the World in a pin-striped suit.

If Isabel Oakshott had been put before a jury accused of being a greedy, hard-hearted, back-stabbing con artist, willing to sell her own grandmother for a good story – I’m sure the jury would have found her fully guilty as charged.

Don’t you?

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Note – in my experience, newspaper hacks are the thinnest-skinned people imaginable when it comes to criticism and like to jump up and down threatening libel at the drop of a hat. Considering they like to dish it out to other people on a regular basis – it rather points to them not being able to take it back – like classic bullies. So Isabel – a free word of legal advice. Please don’t embarrass yourself by threatening me with libel, OK?

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please