The Londoner: The Times pulls out of troubled awards

The Times is set to pull out of the Editorial Intelligence Comment Awards following an attack on one of its writers, The Londoner hears. Bosses at the newspaper, edited by John Witherow, are so angered by the treatment of colleague Janice Turner by one of the prize judges, that they no longer want anything to do with the awards.

The paper will next decide whether to issue a statement or simply not turn up, even though its journalists, including Caitlin Moran, have garnered 12 nominations.

The row began last week with arguments about the Society and Diversity Award category. Two Guardian journalists, Gary Younge and Nesrine Malik, publicly asked to be removed from the Society and Diversity Award because of the presence of Times writer Melanie Phillips.

But the furore has now grown to engulf others. In a subsequent development, one of the judges in the same category hit out at a different Times columnist, Janice Turner.

Helen Belcher, the judge in question and a Lib-Dem candidate, wrote on her blog: “Since The Times started printing such pieces [on trans issues], starting with one by Turner in September 2017, I have heard of more trans suicides than at any point since 2012.”

It is not just the equation of deaths with Turner’s columns that has angered The Times, but the fact that Belcher’s name is still associated with the Comment Awards.

Julia Hobsbawm, who runs the awards, criticised Belcher’s blog post in a private email to judges, calling it a “very nasty and unsubstantiated attack” on Turner, but she refused to allow Belcher to quit. Belcher had, after all, already cast her votes and they would therefore stand. “She judged and she’s a judge,” Hobsbawm told us earlier this week.

Times writers nominated, other than Janice Turner, include Jenni Russell, Matthew Parris and Hugo Rifkind. Some were even quietly told that they had won prizes, but they will now no longer be able to claim them.

A Times spokesperson said in a statement to the Standard, "The Times is proud to publish columnists who represent views across the political spectrum. We have been disappointed by the treatment some of our columnists have received for being shortlisted for these awards. We do not wish to be part of this process."

Editorial Intelligence said on Twitter: "We understand The Times are ordering their shortlisted columnists to withdraw from this year’s awards despite our defence of their writers when they came under attack. The votes are cast and counted for this year’s winners and will be announced as planned on 16 November."

*This article has been amended following statements from The Times and Editorial Intelligence. An earlier version read "We called The Times and Hobsbawm this morning but they are yet to comment."

Adwoa ‘humbled’ by Uganda role

Model Adwoa Aboah helped raise more than £340,000 for Save the Children last night, co-hosting a Big Up Uganda charity auction with photographer Felix Cooper. “My mind has been blown by the generosity of everyone and what happens really when people put their heads together, take a moment to think about how lucky we are, and how much this is needed somewhere else,” Aboah said. She and Cooper decided to host the event after visiting BidiBidi, the world’s largest refugee camp, in northern Uganda last year. “This whole process has been humbling,” Aboah added. “There are so many things going on in the world and ignorance is bliss. This was a moment when you really saw what we can do.”

Lots included a pink print of the Queen by artist Chris Levine, bought for £77,000 by Evening Standard owner Evgeny Lebedev, a Tim Walker print featuring model Karen Elson, which fetched £25,000, and a Vogue experience bought by singer Liam Payne for £4,500. A silent auction was also held, sponsored by retail giant Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield.

Shock and Awe… and then what?

David Petraeus, the retired American four-star general, was on a Policy Exchange Panel with Lord West last night. He recalled sitting at a briefing in Kuwait before the invasion of Iraq in 2003. “Once we take down the regime, what happens then?” he asked. An individual from the organisation for reconstruction told him: “You just get us to Baghdad and we’ll take it from there.”

Lord West, former First Sea Lord, pointed out that he had asked Tony Blair the same question. “He told me, ‘The Americans have got that sorted.’ So now I know.”

--

Kamal Ahmed, the BBC’s new editorial director, launched his book The Life and Times of a Very British Man last night. He thanked his old boss, former director of BBC News James Harding, for being “one of the most supportive employers” for obliging his request for time off, saying: “It’s OK, the BBC has got so many people working for it we won’t even notice.”

--

Mishal Husain, the Today programme presenter, won’t quit social media because “I’m paid by the licence fee, and I have a duty to listen to all shades of reaction”. Speaking at an event for female journalists’ network The Second Source last night, she added: “I am honour-bound to take that in.”

A Handmaid prize

Next month will see charity Freedom From Torture host a literary fundraiser — with an online auction in advance of the event offering a unique prize. Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid’s Tale, will name a character in her next novel after the highest bidder. “This year’s auction is a timely reminder that while the world is an increasingly scary place, our voices are powerful, and we still have the freedom to use them,” Atwood says. “In my novels, I often write about a world that is without liberty and human rights. This fiction is a cruel reality for the torture survivors who are supported by Freedom from Torture.”

--

Photographer David Bailey and his wife Catherine were at the Heni Gallery in Soho last night. He was launching his new exhibition and his latest book, Bailey’s Peru.

SW1A​

Is your dog wearying of the current political climate? Hackney-based company Pet Hates has manufactured a range of satirical squeaking toys, calling them “the perfect way for you and your pooch to vent your political frustrations”. Canines suffering from “Brexit blues” can sink their teeth into a polyester Boris Johnson, below, Theresa May or Jeremy Corbyn. A warning for owners who want to join in, however: the £16.50 toys “are not suitable for strong chewers”.

--

Kelly Tolhurst, business minister, was pictured yesterday at an “indoor, high-tech vertical farm” bathed in dark pink LED lights. “Have you ever seen a farm quite like this?” asked her department’s innocent Twitter feed. Well, only in documentaries about marijuana…

--

A removals van parked up outside No 10 yesterday. “Looks like things are getting worse for Theresa May than she feared,” said Labour MP Richard Burden.

Quote of the Day

‘I really enjoyed being in The Thick of It, but I don’t want to live in it.’ Comedian and actor Chris Addison on why he’ll be at tomorrow’s People’s Vote March.