Paul Staines

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Paul Staines is best known as "one of Britain's leading"[1] political bloggers, writing the pseudonymous "Guido Fawkes' blog of parliamentary plots, rumours & conspiracy" political blog,[2] which has as of March 2007, 287,000 visitors per month.[3] He acquired an interest in politics as a libertarian in the 1980s and promoted acid house parties in the early 1990s. He then spent several years in finance, which, along with his stake in the Messagespace blog advertising network, provides him with the means to dedicate time to his blog, which he started in September 2004.[4]

Contents

Education and personal life

Staines was raised a Catholic, attending a Catholic school in the Harrow area.[3][5]

Staines won an Atari Asteroids competition, where he met Tony Colston-Hayter for the first time, a man with whom he later worked on Acid House raves.[5]

Staines took an interest in bull running, but a bull got the better of him at the start of the Festival of San Fermín in July 2002, though Staines escaped with facial injuries.[6][7]

He is married with one daughter, and is expecting a second child (as of March 2007).[3]

Politics

Staines is a right-wing libertarian who described in a 2000 publication [8] how he became a libertarian in 1980 after reading Karl Popper's The Open Society and its Enemies, from Plato To Marx. He joined the Young Conservatives at university[5] "because they were the only people around who were anti-Socialist or at least anti-Soviet", and at this time began calling himself Delaire-Staines, the name shortened by his father to Staines in the 1960s. Having joined the Federation of Conservative Students, he described his politics as "Thatcher on drugs". He relates that at university he was a "right-wing pain in the butt who was more interested in student politics than essays", who went on "to work in the various right-wing pressure groups and think tanks that proliferated in the late eighties". He admitted that his uncompromising attitude towards libertarianism had been harsh and off-putting, but that it was "time for a more effective, kinder, gentler kind of Libertarianism".

He has been active in the Libertarian Alliance. He was pictured at the 1987 Libertarian Alliance conference with a t-shirt supporting UNITA, produced by his Popular Propaganda enterprise (while at university), which produced posters and t-shirts.[9]

Staines worked as 'foreign policy analyst' for the Committee for a Free Britain, a right-wing Conservative pressure group, alongside David Hart. Staines acted as editor of 'British Briefing' a long-standing publication by the group that was a "monthly intelligence analysis of the activities of the extreme left" that sought to "smear Labour MPs and left-leaning lawyers and writers".[5]

Staines relates of his work with the Committee:

"I was lobbying at the Council of Europe and at Parliament; I was over in Washington, in Jo'burg, in South America. It was 'let's get guns for the Contras', that sort of stuff. I was enjoying it immensely, I got to go with these guys and fire off AK-47s. I always like to go where the action is, and for that period in the Reagan/Thatcher days, it was great fun, it was all expenses paid and I got to see the world. I used to think that World Briefing was a bit funny. The only scary thing about those publications was the mailing list - people like George Bush - and the fact that Hart would talk to the head of British Intelligence for an hour. I used to think it was us having a laugh, putting some loony right-wing sell in, and that somebody somewhere was taking it seriously. You've got to understand that we had a sense of humour about this." [5]

In 1989, Staines published a book, In the Grip of the Sandinistas: Human Rights in Nicaragua 1979-1989, under the auspices of the International Society for Human Rights (of which he was UK secretary-general), analysing Marxist rule in Nicaragua from 1979 to 1989. He was then editor of 'Human Rights Briefing'.

Staines' credibility, he says, was damaged by his increasing enthusiasm for drugs and raves. "One minute l would be on News at One saying 'there's no drugs at these parties' and the next minute I'm supposed to be talking about civil war in Angola. It wasn't working." [5]

He founded the Global Growth Org NGO [2], a campaigning group for free trade for the third world. Campaigns included support for microcredit, as well as a pharmaecutical campaign to "promote the tariff-free trading of drugs in the developing world, secondly defend the re-importation and parallel trading of pharmaceuticals in the rich industrialised nations. Thirdly, to lobby legislators for patient-friendly duration limit". The site shows limited activity in recent month, with its last Hot Sheet published in March 2005, and last blog entry in June 2006.

Acid house

Staines was an organiser of raves and Acid House in the late 80s/early 90s,[5] working as PR officer for Sunrise, which had been formed by Tony Colston-Hayter and David Roberts. Sunrise organised large-scale dance raves organised a private parties to avoid legal issue by positioning raves as private-member clubs, outside of police control.[10]

Faced with opposition from the Conservative government, and a Private Members Bill to clamp down on unlicensed parties, Staines, alongside Tony Colston-Hayter, established the 'Freedom to Party Campaign' at the Conservative Party conference in October 1989. Although the campaign had little impact, with a first rally in Trafalgar Square attracting 4000, and a second only 10000,[5] Staines was still occasionally active in his role as director of the campaign, arguing in 1995 that that individuals should have the right to have occasional noisy parties at home.[11]

Staines later described, in a Libertarian Alliance publication, the actions of police, using surveillance to clamp down on acid parties, as "truly a regime of which Stalin or Hitler himself would be proud, implementing socialist policies to protect the citizens from their own moral weakness", an action that "happened, not under a Communist regime, but under an increasingly authoritarian Conservative government". He described those opposed to rave parties as "the Lifestyle Police ... the conservative, intolerant bigots who demand uniformity ... supported by comfortable suburbia and the reactionary readers of the Daily Express. For them different means dangerous. They truly believe that they represent decent values when in fact they have narrow intolerant values."[12]

Staines says a explanation he related at the 1989 Conservative conference that Acid House was not named after the drug, but for a Chicago term referring to theft of music, was believed by numerous gullible journalists and MPs, to give a false impression that the music was not drug-related.

Staines offered an enthusiastic endorsement of hard drugs relating how "I have fond memories of taking LSD and pure MDMA, trance-dancing and thinking that I had turned into a psychedelic, orgiastic wisp of smoke - it was the most staggeringly enjoyable, mind-warping experience I have ever had. The sense of self liberation was awesome and is to be recommended.", adding "A lot of my Thatcherite/Libertarian friends get very suspicious when I tell them about the love and peace aspects of taking Ecstasy. To them love and peace equals hippies equals leftist. The feeling of unity and shared enjoyment to them smacks of collectivism, not the rugged individualism that they favour. But the drug actually removes inhibitions, liberating your mind." "You feel a sense of solidarity, but it is totally voluntary, there is no coercion. Libertarians are opposed to coercive collectivism, but if I as an individual choose to enjoy a collective experience because I want to, than that is up to me. I suspect that a lot of rightwingers, Conservative, Thatcherite or Libertarian, cling to their inhibitions and are actually afraid of letting go." He concluded "uptight Conservatives are probably the people who would benefit most from taking drugs, particularly Thatcherites, with their machine-like obsession with efficiency and abstract attachment to the freedom to make money. I'm as much of a believer in Capitalism as the most earnest of Young Conservatives, but couldn't we put acid in the punch at the YC ball and then really have a party?"

Financial Career

Staines made his fortune in finance, acting as Chief Investment Officer for Mondial Global Investors[13] hedge fund in Tokyo[14]. He was also principal trader for the Eurodare hedge fund.[15] Staines also worked as a broker for Yasuda Europe. [16]

Blogging

Guido Fawkes Blog

In September 2004, Staines began writing anonymously about politicians of the United Kingdom parliament, under the name of Guido Fawkes, an alternative name of Guy Fawkes, one of the group that plotted to blow up Westminster Palace in 1605.[17] In February 2005, the online version of The Guardian reported that Fawkes' blog shared a fax number with Staines.[18] Although he subsequently denied the links, further media coverage continued to name Staines as Fawkes until the airing of a BBC Radio 4 documentary [19] on him on 10 February 2007, which gave a fairly comprehensive history and background, and prompted his blog post "So Much For Anonymity". [3]

In 2005, Staines' blog was voted the best in the Political Commentary category of The Backbencher Political Weblog Awards, run by The Guardian.[20] In May 2006, Staines (as Guido Fawkes) co-authored a book with Iain Dale about instances of sleaze from the Labour Party since taking office in 1997.[21]

In April 2006, Staines was one of numerous bloggers subject to an injunction[22] from the News International for publishing a picture of undercover journalist Mazher Mahmood. Staines agreed to publish [23] the photo if 10 other bloggers would do so.[4] The picture remained on Staines' site, and subsequently following legal action from George Galloway MP, the photo was released into the public domain.

Staines reported the allegation that John Prescott was having an extra-marital affair with an MP, and named the woman in question, saying that such rumours had long been shared among Westminster journalists, but that he was being less hypocritical and breaking the clique by refusing to cover up such stories.[24] The coverage of the Prescott affair drew considerable extra traffic to Staines' blog.[25]

He was named at number 36 in the "Top 50 newsmakers of 2006" in The Independent,[26] for his blog, and his role in the Prescott scandal in particular.

As Guido Fawkes he is a regular guest on a live radio show and podcast. [27]

Staines encourages readers to forward political documents and information, which he publishes on his blog. One such leak was a strategy document for the Peter Hain for Deputy Leader of the Labour Party campaign. This leak caused embarrassment to Hain's campaign,[28] as it included information on MPs who had not gone public with their support, as well as others who were supposed to be independent.

Smith Institute allegations

Staines has made a number of posts on his blog relating to the Smith Institute, a charitable thinktank setup in memory for former Labour leader John Smith, which he alleged to have engaged in party political activities (forbidden under charity law) and links to Gordon Brown. These complaints led on February 1st 2007 to a formal investigation by the Charities Commission.[29] The Commission threatened him with contempt of court proceedings if he did not release any documents, obtained from whistleblowers, relating to political activties by the Smith Institute.[30] Staines has stated on his blog [31] that he intends to protect his anonymous sources.

Newsnight feature, 28th March 2007

Staines on his blog says that he has on several occasions been invited onto BBC Newsnight, but has always refused. However on 28th March 2007, he appeared on the programme, saying he could not refuse the offer of "his own production team, a free hand with the script and five minutes of prime time to do whatever he wanted." Staines face was deliberatey not shown on the programme,[32] in which he accused journalists of being too scared of politicians refusing to do interviews to question them in a properly vigorous manner. In support of his claims, Sky News said they had no access to David Cameron for up to a month after he got upset with the interviewer on Sky News.

Staines in the programme interviewed Nick Robinson and Jeremy Paxman, saying that the requirements under the Broadcasting Act to be impartial did not mean that the BBC should have to provide the impartiality itself - when the government refuses to provide a spokesman, instead of reading the prepared statement, they should just leave an empty chair, Staines said.

Paxman said Staines was "talking bollocks" and that his claims were "ridiculous conspiracy theories". Nick Robinson responded on his own blog saying journalists need to build working relationships with their subjects, but this does not stop him asking the questions that need to be asked.[33]

Staines also featured in a live debate on the show with Jeremy Paxman and Michael White, Assistant Editor and former Political Editor of UK newspaper The Guardian, who Staines had referred to on his blog as "Sir Michael White", implying that he was a Labour establishment toady unwilling to provide adequate scrutiny of John Prescott.

Staines appeared in shadow under his pseudonym Guido Fawkes, because he said he wanted to be able to talk to politicians and journalists without them realising who it was, a strategy that backfired when White immediately refrred to him by his real identity and said Staines had been pointed out to him as the author of the Guido Fawkes blog at an event both had attended.

Of the live debate, Staines said it "was definitely a mistake". He also said appearing in shadow was the idea of the Newsnight editor. [34]

Criticism of the Guido Fawkes blog

Staines' has been criticised for his approach to blogging. He has often criticised the media, and the BBC in particular, for being too cosy with the political establishment and for keeping internal secrets about political scandals. He said of allegations about John Prescott that "You can tell it is a big story because Nick Robinson is ignoring it". Robinson responded,[35] accusing Staines of having a political agenda to damage the government, and reporting unsubstantiated and unverifiable allegations.

These criticisms were echoed by Peter Wilby, in The New Statesman, who suggested that Staines' claims to have made the news on Prescott were unfounded, as the story had previously been covered in The Times, and that Staines' contribution to the debate was persistent implications of scandal without supporting evidence.[36]

Colin Brown, in response to criticisms from Staines that the media is too cosy with politicians said "We would love to go into print with things that we hear and believe to be true, but cannot prove, but the libel laws are such that we cannot put things into newspapers that he [Guido Fawkes] seems to think that he can get away with on the internet. They don't seem to run by the same rules".[37]

Staines responded, claiming that he is much more vulnerable to libel suits than the print media is, as an individual he does not have a large company backing him, although he says the fact that his blog his published through an offshore company, Global and General Nominees, a Nevis-registered firm offers some protection, as plaintiffs are required to deposit $25,000 in court before commencing any action in Nevis.[38] In fact under UK libel law, the author, editor, and publisher of libellous claims are all libel; however, personal Staines' assets are offshore, and he is himself based in Ireland, making him "a libel lawyer’s worst nightmare".[3]

In the Newsnight debate with Staines, Michael White said: “You see a naive conspiratorial view of the political process and of politicians which says in effect they’re all crooks, and they all ought to be in jail, and we will fearlessly expose them on the blogsphere. And it isn’t like that.”

He added: “You can be pretty cavalier with the facts sometimes. Much of the blog, for people who don’t know it, this week is devoted to whether or not Gordon Brown picked his nose in, was it the budget or some other recent event? That’s been your top item.”

During the Newsnight interview with Michael White, Staines appeared to reveal Robinson as one of his anonymous sources, something Staines later attempted to clarify, claiming that Robinson had never been one of his sources.[39]

Robinson also felt the need to respond on his blog, saying “For the record, if I have stories I broadcast them and don't give them to bloggers. If I ever had thoughts of doing anything else they were removed by Guido's performance last night which demonstrated an utterly cavalier attitude to facts.”[40]

Global and General Nominees and Messagespace

Staines firm, Global and General Nominees, a firm registered in Nevis on July 27, 2005 publishes his blog.[41]

The same firm is majority shareholder in Messagespace, a blog advertising network that sells advertising space on many British political blogs, including PoliticalBetting.com, Iain Dale, ConservativeHome, Labourhome, and Recess Monkey.[42]

Messagespace is registered as a limited company in the UK, EOS Online Media Limited, its shareholding by Global and General Nominees "advised by Paul Staines of EOS Teo based in Ireland".[43] EOS Teo, or Emerald Offshore Services Teoranta Ltd.,[5] Ireland, a company registered in Gibletstown, Duncormick in County Wexford has as its directors Terril Staines and Mary Staines. [44]

EOS Teoranta is the registered Company Secretary for Eos Online Media. Paul Staines is one of three contacts for the company with Alex Hilton as the company's Managing Director and Jag Singh in charge of the company's hosting. Alex Hilton is owner of Labourhome and Recess Monkey, two Labour-supporting sites, as well as a Labour candidate and, in the past, local councillor.

References

  1. ^ Graeme Wilson and Brendan Carlin. Focus on Labour website in peerage row. Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 31 January 2007
  2. ^ http://www.order-order.com/
  3. ^ a b c d http://www.solondon.co.uk/Article.aspx?kArticle=123&zone=33
  4. ^ http://www.order-order.com/2004/09/hain-lets-out-secret-ssshhhhh.html
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Collin, Matthew; Godfrey, John (1998). Altered State: The Story of Ecstasy Culture and Acid House, 2nd edition, London: Serpent's Tail. ISBN 1-85242-604-7. —Staines features in this book written by Collin, the ex-editor of UK trend bible i-D magazine.
  6. ^ http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20020708/ai_n12628980
  7. ^ mondialglobalinvestors's profile. Yahoo! Member Directory. Retrieved on 2006-11-18.
  8. ^ http://www.libertarian.co.uk/freelife/fl037.pdf
  9. ^ http://www.libertarian.co.uk/archive/photorec/1987g/1987g.htm
  10. ^ http://www.amazon.com/gp/sitbv3/reader/103-0874228-8539029?asin=0415923735&pageID=S02C&checkSum=H9evhbq807WWuoNaPU6JKrO96TuSLf4MKBpH5VX0bgM=
  11. ^ http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19951215/ai_n14023924
  12. ^ http://www.serendipity.li/wod/staines.html
  13. ^ [Paul]; Bloomberg Workstation (2001-04-24). Untitled Document. Bloomberg L.P.. Retrieved on 2007-02-19.
  14. ^ Staines, Paul D. (2000), "A Kinder, Gentler, Kind of Libertarianism: Reflections on Two Decades of Libertarianism", Free Life (no. 37): 20 [link accessed 2007-02-19]
  15. ^ [|Staines, Paul] (1996), "THE BENEFITS OF SPECULATION: A BOND MARKET VIGILANTE REPLIES TO WILL HUTTON’S THE STATE WE’RE IN", Economic Notes 69: 4 [link accessed 2007-02-19]
  16. ^ Guardian Weekend 30 April 1994, quoted in "Mapping Desire: Geographies of Sexuality" - David Bell
  17. ^ Guido Fawkes. Blogger. Retrieved on 2006-06-01.
  18. ^ "Who you gonna call?", Guardian Unlimited, 2005-02-02.
  19. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/profile/pip/pinzz/
  20. ^ The Backbencher Political Weblog Awards: Help choose the winning blogs. Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved on 2006-06-01.
  21. ^ Dale, Iain; Fawkes, Guido (2006). The Little Red Book of New Labour Sleaze. Politico's Media. ISBN 1-904734-16-2. 
  22. ^ http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4159/is_20060409/ai_n16185207
  23. ^ http://www.order-order.com/2006/04/sheikh-it-up-baby.html
  24. ^ http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/article/110706/political_blogs_john_prescott
  25. ^ http://weblogs.hitwise.com/heather-hopkins/2006/07/guido_fawkes_fair_and_balanced.html
  26. ^ http://news.independent.co.uk/media/article2087460.ece
  27. ^ http://theknivesareout.com
  28. ^ http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/newspolitics/tm_headline=leaked-paper-threatens-to-derail-hain-s-ambitions&method=full&objectid=18553342&siteid=50082-name_page.html
  29. ^ Statement on the Charity Commission and the Smith Institute, Charity Commission website, 1 February 2007
  30. ^ Political blogger warned he could be jailed, Christopher Hope, The Daily Telegraph 16 February 2007
  31. ^ Guido Fawkes' blog of plots, rumours & conspiracy, retrieved on 16 February 2007
  32. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_6500000/newsid_6503100/6503175.stm?bw=bb&mp=rm
  33. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/nickrobinson/
  34. ^ http://www.order-order.com/2007/03/guido-regrets.html
  35. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/nickrobinson/2006/07/prescott_for_du.html
  36. ^ http://www.newstatesman.com/200607170028
  37. ^ http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/article/110706/political_blogs_john_prescott
  38. ^ http://www.order-order.com/2006/07/so-rosie-where-is-guidos-writ.html
  39. ^ http://www.order-order.com/2007/03/guido-regrets.html
  40. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/nickrobinson/2007/03/guido_fawkes_ap.html
  41. ^ http://www.order-order.com/2006/04/fake-sheikh-shit.html
  42. ^ http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/story1989.shtml
  43. ^ http://www.messagespace.co.uk/blog/about/
  44. ^ [1] Companies Registration Office, Ireland. €3.50 payment required for directors' details

Further reading

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