How the Evening Standard Helped Rig a Mayoral Election

In the history of British political journalism, few episodes better illustrate the corrosive power of media partisanship than the campaign waged by the Evening Standard against Ken Livingstone during his time as Mayor of London. From the early 2000s until his narrow defeat in 2008, Livingstone was subjected to what many journalists, academics, and political observers came to describe as a sustained campaign of distortion, vilification, and character assassination¹.

At the heart of this operation were two key figures: Veronica Wadley, the Standard‘s editor from 2002 to 2009, and Andrew Gilligan, a journalist whose reporting straddled the line between investigative journalism and political hit jobs.

A Newspaper Turned Political Weapon

The Evening Standard, owned at the time by the Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT), had long tilted to the right, but under Wadley it took a sharp turn into open ideological warfare. Critics, including media analysts and political scientists, have described the paper’s editorial approach as “relentless”, “unbalanced”, and “systematically hostile” to Livingstone².

Media monitoring studies conducted during the 2008 London mayoral race revealed that more than 250 negative articles about Livingstone were published in the Standard in the final 12 months of the campaign³.

Notable intervention:

“The Standard became a de facto campaign paper for Boris Johnson. It breached all recognised norms of journalistic fairness.”
— Martin Bell, former BBC journalist and MP⁴

Andrew Gilligan: From BBC Exit to Disgraced Journalist

A quick reminder of who and what Andrew Gilligan is:

1. Gilligan’s BBC Report (29 May 2003):

Andrew Gilligan, then a journalist for the BBC, reported on Radio 4’s Today programme that the British government had “sexed up” its September 2002 intelligence dossier on Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction (WMD). He claimed a senior source had told him that the dossier had been deliberately exaggerated, particularly the claim that Saddam Hussein could deploy WMD within 45 minutes.

2. David Kelly Identified as the Source:

Dr David Kelly, a respected weapons expert and former UN weapons inspector, was identified (first anonymously, then publicly) as the likely source of Gilligan’s story. Kelly had spoken to Gilligan off the record. Although the BBC initially stood by its report, Kelly found himself caught in the middle of a heated political and media row.

3. Kelly’s Death (17 July 2003):

After facing intense media scrutiny, questioning by Parliament, and pressure from the Ministry of Defence, Dr Kelly was found dead near his Oxfordshire home. The official cause of death was ruled to be suicide by the subsequent Hutton Inquiry.

4. The Hutton Inquiry (2003–2004):

The government launched an inquiry, led by Lord Hutton, which cleared the government of wrongdoing and was highly critical of the BBC and Gilligan’s journalism. It concluded that Gilligan’s report was “unfounded” in some respects and that the BBC’s editorial oversight was inadequate.

5. Aftermath and Legacy:

• Gilligan was criticised for inaccuracies and for misrepresenting some of Kelly’s comments.
• Senior BBC figures resigned, including the Director-General and Chairman, following the publication of the Hutton Report.
• Gilligan himself resigned from the BBC but continued working in journalism and later moved into politics.
• The Hutton Inquiry was controversial, with many accusing it of being a whitewash of the government’s actions.

Andrew Gilligan then joined the Standard in 2007, having resigned from the BBC following the Hutton Inquiry into his Iraq War reporting. His arrival marked an escalation in the Standard’s anti-Livingstone campaign.

Gilligan produced a deluge of articles targeting Livingstone, his deputy Nicky Gavron, advisor Lee Jasper, and affiliated community groups. While Gilligan framed his reporting as necessary scrutiny of public institutions, many of his articles relied on innuendo, selective quotation, and unverified leaks⁵.

Catalogue of Falsehoods and Misleading Claims

Here is a documented list of distortions and unfounded accusations, primarily by Gilligan and published under Wadley’s editorship:

1. The Lee Jasper “Corruption” Scandal

• Claim: Gilligan claimed Lee Jasper, Livingstone’s race advisor, was complicit in misappropriating funds given to Black-led community groups⁶.
• Fact: An internal audit by the GLA found no criminal wrongdoing by Jasper. A Metropolitan Police investigation concluded the same⁷. Although some projects had poor oversight, allegations of personal enrichment or corruption were unsubstantiated.
• Impact: Despite his eventual exoneration, Jasper was forced to resign amid the media storm, fatally damaging Livingstone’s image with key community groups.

2. “City Hall Sleaze” Narrative

• Claim: Gilligan described the GLA as “rotten”, accusing it of widespread nepotism and misuse of funds⁸.
• Fact: No evidence of systemic wrongdoing was ever produced. The Audit Commission and GLA’s external auditors confirmed no pattern of financial corruption⁹. The language used exaggerated minor governance failings to imply widespread rot.

3. Accusations of Islamic Extremism Links

• Claim: Livingstone was painted as having ties to “Islamist radicals”, focusing particularly on his hosting of Yusuf al-Qaradawi in 2004¹⁰.
• Fact: Livingstone’s engagement with al-Qaradawi was part of broader interfaith outreach. The Standard failed to mention that al-Qaradawi had been hosted previously by senior Labour and Conservative figures. There was no evidence that Livingstone shared or endorsed Qaradawi’s controversial views¹¹.

4. Manipulated Poll Reporting

• Claim: The Standard misrepresented polling data, frequently asserting that Johnson was “well ahead” when polls were often within margin-of-error territory¹².
• Fact: Internal Tory polling later revealed they feared a narrow loss even weeks before the election¹³. The Standard created a misleading narrative of a collapsing Livingstone campaign to shape public perception.

5. The Venezuela Oil Deal

• Claim: Livingstone’s fuel subsidy deal with Venezuela was portrayed as a secretive pact with a “dictator”, implying corruption or ideological radicalism¹⁴.
• Fact: The agreement was publicly debated, signed with full documentation, and benefited Londoners through discounted bus fuel in exchange for technical assistance. It was praised by several low-income advocacy groups for easing transport costs¹⁵.

Journalist Rewarded by Political Office

After Johnson’s victory in May 2008, Gilligan was appointed as Cycling Commissioner for London—a publicly funded role with influence over transport policy. Critics viewed this as a political payoff for favourable coverage¹⁶.

Gilligan’s subsequent roles under Johnson (including adviser during his Foreign Secretary tenure and later in No.10) further blurred the lines between journalism and governance.

Impact on Journalism and Democracy

The effect of the Standard‘s behaviour was twofold:

1. Journalistic standards were eroded by a campaign that prioritised narrative over evidence.
2. Democratic discourse was distorted by a media monopoly shaping public understanding through partial and often misleading coverage.

The media’s role is to challenge power—not to act as a proxy for it. When watchdogs become attack dogs, both journalism and democracy suffer.

Legacy and Consequences

Veronica Wadley was later nominated to the Arts Council England and a House of Lords seat by the Conservative government, despite vocal opposition from artists and watchdogs citing her partisan record¹⁷. Gilligan moved further into Conservative inner circles.

Their influence on the 2008 election remains a textbook case of how media power can be deployed to distort political outcomes. As media ownership becomes increasingly concentrated and political allegiances more naked, the Livingstone case is a reminder of how easily democracy can be manipulated in plain sight.

Footnotes & References

1. Jones, Owen. The Establishment: And How They Get Away With It (2014), Chapter 5. ↩
2. Greenslade, Roy. “Ken Livingstone and the Evening Standard: A War of Attrition.” The Guardian, 2008. ↩
3. MediaWise Trust Report on the 2008 London Mayoral Election Coverage, 2008. ↩
4. Bell, Martin. Public comments to the BBC, 2008; cited in Press Gazette. ↩
5. Beckett, Charlie. SuperMedia: Saving Journalism So It Can Save the World (2008). ↩
6. Gilligan, Andrew. “Lee Jasper Scandal,” Evening Standard, 2007–08 series. ↩
7. “Met Police Drop Lee Jasper Probe,” BBC News, 2008. ↩
8. “The Rotten Boroughs of City Hall,” Gilligan, Evening Standard, Feb 2008. ↩
9. Audit Commission Report on GLA Oversight, 2008. ↩
10. Gilligan, Andrew. “Ken’s Islamist Friends,” Evening Standard, Jan 2008. ↩
11. “Ken Livingstone Defends Qaradawi Invite,” BBC News, 2004. ↩
12. YouGov Polling Archives, April–May 2008; Ipsos MORI data comparison. ↩
13. Conservative Party internal polling memo, leaked by New Statesman, 2009. ↩
14. “Livingstone Signs Oil Deal with Chavez,” The Guardian, Feb 2007. ↩
15. “Livingstone’s Oil Deal Helps the Poor,” London Assembly Debates, 2007. ↩
16. “Boris Appoints Gilligan as Cycling Commissioner,” The Times, 2008. ↩
17. “Artists Protest Wadley Arts Council Role,” The Independent, 2009. ↩