Labour MPs admit plan to fake Purnell photo

James Purnell, the Culture Secretary, came under increasing pressure over a fake photo last night, after two Labour MPs revealed they planned in advance for it be altered. The MPs, who featured alongside Mr Purnell in the doctored photograph, revealed that they had discussed how he would be merged into the shot after failing to turn up for a photocall on time. The MPs say that they had organised several different poses, each of which had space for the absent minister.The disclosure will prove highly embarrassing for Mr Purnell, who has faced a barrage of criticism ever since it emerged that his image had been pasted into a photocall at which he was not present.The minister arrived too late for the gathering of dignitaries at Tameside General Hospital in July but agreed to be photographed alone on the site of new building works.Last week local newspapers were issued with a picture which showed Mr Purnell standing alongside his Labour colleagues, who had already left the hospital by the time that the minister's photograph was taken.Hospital bosses insisted that Mr Purnell had agreed to the idea of merging the pictures. But his aides say he interpreted "merging" as meaning two separate pictures would run alongside each other.But the row deepened last night following the intervention of two Labour MPs who were in the photograph.Tom Levitt, the MP for High Peak, said that the idea of merging the images "was raised as a possibility" on the day. He also said that the group posed so "as to leave a space for James".His party colleague David Heyes also recalled the manipulation of the photograph being discussed and said that he and the rest of the party had posed for several photographs, each with a gap for Mr Purnell."I remember we did one on the stairs and that also had a space for James."Mr Levitt said that Mr Purnell had not been present when the discussion took place and he himself had left before the minister arrived. The incident is a major embarrassment for Mr Purnell, who has been highly critical of television channels which have cheated the public.Only two weeks ago, Mr Purnell delivered a keynote speech in which he censured the BBC and other leading broadcasters for jeopardising public trust over fixed phone-in competitions, which have resulted in fines of £50,000 for the corporation and £2?million for GMTV.In his speech, Mr Purnell said: "In both politics and television you devalue the only currency you have if you forfeit the trust of the public. Jeremy Hunt, the Tory culture spokesman, said: "This demonstrates that spin is at the heart of Labour, and it blows a hole in Gordon Brown's claims of spin-free government." He described Mr Purnell's position as "totally untenable", saying: "His credibility is damaged, and this is at a time when the whole of broadcasting is in a crisis of trust and requires leadership to get us out of it."
Source: The Telegraph