G20 Nigel Rosser exposed

Nigel Rosser is a tabloid journalist who recycles Met police press releases as scare stories in the run up to major demonstrations. He has previously written stories about Mayday and Climate camp.

Nigel Rosser, journalist

Robert Mendick, the one on the right

Rosser's job is to be the voice of the Met which often conflicts with the reality of the world around him.

As journalists both Rosser and his partner in crime Robert Mendick have had complaints against them upheld by the Press Complaints Commission (PCC). 'Militants will hit Heathrow' (2007) was judged a breach of Clause 1 (Accuracy) of the Code of Practice "care had not been taken over the piece, which was materially misleading. This was a serious breach of the Code" said the PCC, and 'Eco-protesters target school run mothers' (2008) had to be retracted by the Evening Standard with a grovelling apology "we wish to make it clear that there is no evidence that climate-change protesters had plans to target school-run mothers, deflate tyres or cover the windscreens of moving vehicles".

Who then are the Del boy and Rodney of the crime reporters circuit? And how close is their relationship to Scotland Yard?

Mendick seems to be the more clueless and senior of the pair. Back in 2005 he invented a story about the Dar Al Taqwa bookshop off Baker street being a supplier of terrorist literature. After being proven untrue he apologised by saying cryptically “This is my job. Tony Blair has asked us to go and look at all Islamic bookshops.”
Mendick the fantasist beginning to emerge?

Nigel Rosser is a kind of middle class spiv, the sort journalism always attracts, desperate for approval from the Met boys and his bosses. Ironically Rosser quit his job as a journalist a couple of years ago to become a property developer. Given Rosser's back on the muck-raking scene it seems he didn't make a particularly good job of that either.

Mendick is 42 years old, claims to have been educated at Cambridge (1985-1988), married with 2 children. He lives in north London and his chief contribution to journalism is getting the New Deal underlings at the Standard to write his stories for him.

There's a story going round that four years ago Rosser asked a senior detective to describe exactly what Kenneth Noye [gangster involved in Brinks Mat robbery serving time for murder] was like. The policeman looked him up and down and replied: "A middle-class boy like you? Absolutely your worst nightmare."

We know you're listening Robert and Nigel...

Both can be contacted directly at:
London Evening Standard
Northcliffe House
2 Derry St,
London,
W8 5TT

Chief Reporter

Additions

Their latest Evening Standard article about "Black Bloc anarchists to hijack..."

23.03.2009 19:01

Their article published today "'Black Bloc' anarchists to hijack summit protests using shields and truncheons" is another example of the almost carbon copy scare story that they and others trundle out ahead of protests. It starts with some headline claim or assertion and then fails to follow through with any fact.

A quick look at the story sees nothing substantive in it at all - it's all "is understood to be planning" / "is believed to be at the centre of plans" / "is said to be" etc

There are no verifiable sources at all, though this is not unusual for their style of journalism.

If you look at the 15 or so comments under the evening standard they are all either saying that people have a right to be angry over the current political / financial situation, or that the article is sensationalist and just trying to pave the way for a police repression of the demonstrators.

Pete

Comments

Hide the following 17 comments

befrienders united

23.03.2009 19:02

Oooh, Nigel Rosser is on Facebook - first entry when a search is conducted.... and so is Robert Mendick, who sports this lovely profile picture....

Mister Spazbook

Nigel's hit the big time

23.03.2009 19:41

if you put nigel rosser g20 into google this comes up first

http://davos.wsj.com/article/0b1jeuQaXT0ZF?q=Tony+Blair

Keep up the good work!

Dotty Lepkowska

chris knight on more4 news

23.03.2009 23:46

bizarre story on more4 news tonight - though they didn't name him, i believe it was chris knight they interviewed. he said 'any police violence at G20 would be met by "mutually assured destruction". WTF?
then he said any building with it's lights on overnight would be targeted and the lights "turned off".

ex-cop john o'connor said mr knight could face a conspiracy charge. lindsey german trotted out her usual fine words (never backed up by actions or support!).

what possessed chris knight to go on and say these things, and who did he think he was speaking for?

the first part of chris knight's interview isn't on line, but the last bit and the discussion is - not certain the direct link will work cos it pops up as a java window (try

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1554364155) - otherwise, it's at the 'missed the show?' link at

http://www.channel4.com/news/watchlisten/more4news.jsp

occasional tv watcher

who is Chris Knight?

24.03.2009 00:07

you write it as if we should all know..!

not him

Who Chris Knight?

24.03.2009 00:46

He's an anthropology professor at the University of East London, profiled in the Telegraph at the weekend.

I'm unsure why he agreed to an interview at all, especially an interview like that. First I'd heard of going round knocking on doors and asking people to turn the lights out!

upthera

chris knight

24.03.2009 01:12

he's also one of the self-proclaimed organisers of the alternative conference (starring lindsay german and other leaders of the revolution) later in the day (if he's got time after he's dealt with police violence with his 'mutually assured destruction'!).

occasional tv watcher

Policing debate and Evening Std Journalists

24.03.2009 04:51

The ex top-cop on the discussion said that he thought anti-terror laws and socpa were used incorrectly against protestors and that also that the tactic of 'kettling' or surrounding mass numbers of protestors for hrs was not correct policing either. Fair enough.

That said it probably won't stop the cops using such tactics because often they'd rather do that and settle it in the courts over a number of drawn out years. Still, it's always worth bringing the debate into the public arena and sometimes there are great successes like the admission that no cops were injured by protestors in last years climate camp as opposed to what we were told by Government in Parliament.

As to the Evening Standard journalists, you'd better be sure they are the right online identities, 'cos there are a few different media folks who have worked for london newspapers with the same names.

interested

Yeah, Chris Knight... WTF?!

24.03.2009 09:50

Hi,

Yeah I also saw that interview with Chris Knight. I always knew he was a bit off the wall, but his comments about every building with it's lights on after dark was crazy.

How to make us look totally mental and juvenile, well done.

What a idiot.

Definitely Rosser and Mendick

24.03.2009 10:11

Hugh Dougherty, Standards News Editor reading the shit he commissions

No, it's definitely rosser and mendick.

The other guy to watch for it's posh herbert Hugh Dougherty, the Standard's news editor. It's on his say so that these stories see the light of day.
Official complaints can be made to Hugh at
News Editor: Hugh Dougherty
: 020 7938 7553
:

news@standard.co.uk

Chief Reporter

Not such a fantasy?

24.03.2009 13:18

"Mendick seems to be the more clueless and senior of the pair. Back in 2005 he invented a story about the Dar Al Taqwa bookshop off Baker street being a supplier of terrorist literature. After being proven untrue he apologised by saying cryptically “This is my job. Tony Blair has asked us to go and look at all Islamic bookshops.”
Mendick the fantasist beginning to emerge?"

The bit about Blair, as opposed to about the bookshop, sounds perfectly convincing to me

low standards

24.03.2009 15:21

I did shifts at the standard, briefly before realising what a pile of crap it was and changed jobs, and agree Posh Hugh Dougherty is responsible ultimately. Mendick is Rosser's senior, but overawed by Rosser and scared of him, even though Rosser's great passion is caravanning and is very old. Police love feeding him stuff and MI5.They all hate the fact there are people out there with convictions, don't have to work to pay mortgages and have a real sense of duty and social awareness while they all live in a newspaper bubble protected by security guards. Maybe the black bloc or the old wombles should go to Kensington to protest?

angry

mendick

24.03.2009 15:22

What a wierdo!

yellow

Chris Knight

24.03.2009 15:50

Chris Knight is portraying himself as the leader of ‘G20 Meltdown’ – which is to an extent true – and told Channel 4 News that if the police used violence they would face ‘mutually assured destruction’. I’m not entirely sure what he means but this gives the police precisely the excuse they need (assuming they even want one) to clampdown heavily on any protests which they have not authorised on 1 and 2 April.

We are playing right into their hands. They want a certain amount of trouble on the streets to justify the overtime, the extra resources and the tactics. Remember it was the Met Police who first contrived this absurd notion of the ‘summer of rage’ not because they feared it would happen but because they wanted the Home Office, to whom they are ultimately responsible, to sanction their tactics be prepared to spend extra money on dealing with the unrest.

Rosser has always been a useful conduit for corporate and police disinformation. Last year he was busy writing stories (unusually with Mendick) about Plane Stupid - although this curiously stopped after PS exposed their absurd C2i infiltrator Toby Kendall. He has also targeted the Climate Camp, Reclaim The Streets and the MayDay protests.

Robbie

Mortified

24.03.2009 16:57

I know a lot of Climate Camp people were mortified by what Chris said – although I quite like the bloke and think he may have been joking. But suggesting that his supporters are going to respond with violence against the police should they be attacked is a recipe for disaster and something that the Climate Camp will over the next 24 hours distance itself from.

Kevin

Chris Knight again..

25.03.2009 10:23

Well, saying you're going to respond violently to a violent attack fair and sensible, everybody has the right to self defence.

It was the portraying him as a leader, and him saying any building with its lights on was a fair target,that I objected to.

I hope the CC doesn't start distancing itself from anyone, that's a sure way to create splits and maybe even what the cops/state wants.

Sarah

Rosser: Update

25.03.2009 12:38

Apparently some anarchists are going to interview Rosser at the Standard HQ on April 4th.

Love to be in the room when that happens.

Steve Edwards

Turning off the lights, legally

25.03.2009 15:15

Le Clan du Neon are a French group that go around turning off neon signs at night. These signs normally have a powerswitch right beside them that you can climb up to. It is a gesture action designed to make people think about energy conservation but it is cool and a fun way to spend a few hours. It is very satisfying to take a photograph of a street before and after you've unilluminated it. Perfectly legal too.

The kids where I was born used to take out all the street lights with catapults in winter so we could run amok without being identified. The relative lack of street lighting in France freaked me out a bit when I first visited, but now I appreciate the lack of light pollution there.

Danny