Tabloid reporting branded ‘disgusting’ by Twitterati
A leading University of Glasgow law professor has gone viral for calling out the Daily Mail for its coverage of the Jo Cox murder story.
This week, neo-Nazi Thomas Mair was convicted of and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of former Batley and Spen MP and mother of two Cox. The vocal Remainer was shot and stabbed multiple times by Mair just days before the EU referendum. While the 52-year-old murderer did not give evidence at trial, it’s been widely reported his actions were politically motivated and were described as an act of terrorism by trial judge Alan Wilkie.
In its coverage of the trial and sentencing, the Mail Online — a pro-Brexit, right-wing media outlet — ran an article yesterday with the headline: ‘Did Neo-Nazi murder Jo over fear he’d lose council house he grew up in? Terrorist thought property could end up being occupied by an immigrant family — and the MP wouldn’t help him’.
It didn’t take long for lawyers, typically a left-wing bunch, to express their dismay.
This was led by Professor James Chalmers, who tweeted a screenshot of the offending headline with the caption “Turns out there really is nothing the Daily Mail can’t blame on immigrants”.
Turns out there really is nothing the Daily Mail can't blame on immigrants. pic.twitter.com/5jLMr5Ic9k
— James Chalmers (@ProfChalmers) November 24, 2016
Chalmers — who specialises in criminal law and the law of evidence at the Russell Group university — went viral, his tweet racking up over 2,000 retweets in a matter of hours, rising to almost 5,000 overnight. It also prompted a number of like-minded comments from equally outraged tweeters.
@ProfChalmers @mrjamesob Disgusting. Vile. Abhorrent. The Daily Mail.
Synonyms.
— Barry McGuigan (@McGuiganBarry) November 24, 2016
@ProfChalmers @mrjamesob absolute gutter journalism.
— Matthew Cross (@matcross85) November 24, 2016
@ProfChalmers @LegalActionGrp every time you think those scum bags cannot sink lower they do just that
— Colin Peter Bourne (@cpbourne) November 24, 2016
One such comment came from Devereux Chambers tax specialist Jolyon Maugham QC, who used his popular social media account to denounce the controversial headline.
How do your partners feel about your advertising supporting this journalism, @johnlewisretail, especially those who are immigrants? https://t.co/m2zF3A7lbp
— Jo Maugham QC (@JolyonMaugham) November 24, 2016
This certainly isn’t the first time the Mail Online has got under the skin of solicitors and barristers alike.
Just this month, lawyers had their heads in their hands once again when the newspaper launched a personal attack on the three judges involved in the Brexit High Court challenge, including one story which referred to Sir Terence Etherton’s sexuality in its headline. Legal commentators described the reporting as “disgraceful” and “low”.