Last night, through tears of laughter, I read the latest rantings from Keith Jackson. I’ll get into his wider antics a bit later, because I feel I need to touch on the broader failings of the Scottish sporting press today, but Jackson holds a special place in our hearts because he is the ultimate fool, the man who plays the role of the “useful idiot” time and again.
He never seems to learn, never seems to grasp the obvious, even when the Ibrox hand is so far up his backside it’s tickling his throat.
The reason I laughed is that he published an incredibly bitter piece attacking Craig Whyte for that ridiculous interview the other day, which I touched on yesterday in the context of the HMRC claim, which I said then—and I say now—that it’s farcical, absurd, and utterly untrue.
There’s no way HMRC officials went to Whyte and told him they were wrong not to accept a CVA from Rangers, especially when that decision was made on policy grounds, with a bigger prize in mind. And, by the way, they did later secure that prize by getting settlement agreements with almost everyone they went after. All they had to do was hold up the shrunken skeleton of Rangers and people would write them their cheques on the spot.
They knew what they were doing alright.
Jackson’s article is a broadside on Whyte’s entire interview, and I actually agree with him on one thing: sitting through an hour and 40 minutes of Whyte’s self-justification and blatant lies is more than anyone should have to endure. Many Celtic fans, myself included, have joked about Whyte, but let’s be clear here—we’re talking about a charlatan, a conman, a low-life although it’s hard to forget that if the governing bodies had gotten the solution they wanted, he might still be running that club today, having gotten away with every last one of his sins.
Jackson tears into Whyte for various idiotic comments, including the bizarre praise he lavished on Andrew Tate, which was an absolutely ludicrous thing to do, although coming from someone with Whyte’s morality, it’s not that surprising.
But just because I agree with parts of Jackson’s critique doesn’t mean I’m going to let him off the hook, because parts of his article had me in stitches.
Jackson is still banging on about his Ticketus “exclusive” from the summer of 2011.
All I can say is that it’s extraordinary he’s still claiming credit for breaking that story. Celtic social media had been buzzing with rumours of Ticketus for months by then. It was first posted on a Celtic fan forum, like so many other parts of that saga, where ordinary supporters were doing the real investigative work. I understand Jackson wanting to look like the guy who was sounding the alarm, but we all know better. He wasn’t leading the charge—he was playing catch-up.
The real reason I was laughing last night is that Jackson sounds like an angry, jilted ex. His writing has all the hallmarks of someone who was given a good old-fashioned using and can’t get over it. And honestly, he should feel that way, because that’s exactly what happened to him. It’s one of the worst examples I’ve ever seen of a journalist getting taken for a mug.
But let’s be honest—when we talk about Jackson as a journalist, we’re stretching the definition. He’s more of a mouthpiece for whoever needs him at the time. I always call him the “useful idiot,” but the truth is, he’s just dumb enough to think he plays the useful role. The people pulling his strings see him for what he really is; the idiot who will swallow whatever they feed him.
No matter how much Jackson squirms and tries to act like he was a major player in breaking open the Whyte story, we all know better.
So much of his reporting was lifted from the work being done elsewhere. Want an example? Remember that infamous picture of the Craig Whyte takeover headquarters in the British Virgin Islands? A dilapidated portacabin in the middle of a field of cows? That picture made the front page of the Sunday Mail, and they called it an exclusive.
But that image and the story behind it had been circulating on fan forums for weeks before it ever appeared in the mainstream press. The same goes for the first pictures of Whyte’s Glasgow office—a locked room with barred windows and a single dusty filing cabinet.
We knew who Craig Thomas Whyte was long before Jackson did. We knew about his failed businesses because we did the legwork.
And who was it that paved the way for Whyte to take over the Ibrox club in the first place? Which brave, intrepid reporter acted as his PR man? Why, none other than Keith Jackson himself, Mr. Exclusive. He wrote that infamous “Motherwell-born billionaire” story—a work of fiction so fantastical it deserves a Booker Prize.
The fact that Jackson didn’t realise he was writing fiction will haunt his career.
Nothing he’s done since will erase the shame of having put that article in print under his own name. Do you know how easy it was to discredit that story? I did it in an hour by downloading the Sunday Times Rich List. Unsurprisingly, Whyte wasn’t on it.
A more thorough researcher might have dug through Companies House records or financial statements, but my fellow “internet bampots” did that too. My contribution was the Sunday Times Rich List story, and it took me less than an afternoon.
That Jackson didn’t even do the most basic fact-checking before running with his “exclusive” is disgraceful. It’s outrageous, scandalous, and it should have ended his career. But, of course, he works for a title with no professional standards, and they still pay him to churn out the same drivel he wrote last night—claiming credit for others’ work while trying to cover his own embarrassment.
Here’s the thing: Craig Whyte is exactly the piece of dirt Jackson described in his article, and every criticism of him is accurate.
But Whyte was all of those things back when Jackson was cheerleading him through the Ibrox gates.
The article is not just about Whyte’s sins—it’s about Jackson’s shame, and no matter how much he tries to disguise it, it’s there for all to see.
He’ll be a laughingstock for the rest of his career because of it, but he can take some solace from the fact that he’s not alone.
I chose the picture of this piece very carefully; look at that photo, that conspiratorial gathering, King, Johnston and Whyte himself … whatever these people tell themselves now, they were all complicit in what that man did and none of them should be allowed to slither away from that and claim to have had clean hands. It’s incredible to me to see these same people continue to be feted by a media that enjoys nothing more than whitewashing history.
Jackson brings shame on the business, sure, but the industry itself is its own disgrace … and I’ll talk about that later on.
So Craig Whyte is making noise again and he’s telling a story of being a victim and injustice. How long did he get banned for? 10 or 15 years? Maybe he’s laying the groundwork for a comeback. Don’t tell me they’re not dumb enough to fall for it again. Popcorn at the ready.
James come on the Booker Prize really more like the Bollocks Prize surely.
I just read Jackson’s original piece about Craig Whyte and his wealth being “off the radar”, I hadn’t read it for years, however knowing what I know now about what occurred after he acquired his beloved Rangers, it’s comedy gold from Jackson. He must squirm at the very mention of Craig Whyte’s name!!
Keep at them James…
I don’t call them The Scummy’s of The Scummy Scottish Football Media for nothing you know !
“Wealth off the radar.” Because Whyte didn’t have enough wealth to raise his profile high enough to register on the radar.
Still it got the bears salivating and imagining all sorts of fantastic things happening to their club. When it happened, it was fantastic, but not in the ways they had imagined. To this day, they are still trying to come to terms with those events. Their biggest problem is that they still believe King et al are the good guys.
And they wonder why we call them the Gullibillies.
Man, where dae ye even start with that article ? Firstly, the sheer audacity of that clown, tae say he was ‘astonished’ that Whyte’s interviewer never ‘challenged’ his views. This comin from somebody, who along with his DR, pro- ibrox disciples, have relied and still dae, on the very same. The only reason jackson and the rest have gotten away with ( apart from on blogs and forums like this) their continual speculative, super hypeed, highly questionable pro-ibrox tripe for years, is because they theirselves go ‘unchallenged’ in Scotland. Any media anywhere else outside this country, their ‘views’ would be analysed, CHALLENGED and handed back tae them for bogroll and they fkn know it. A few years back, he had an article about whyte that included a grovellin ‘mia culpa’, aimed at the ibrox institution for bein taken in by Whyte. Now he’s makin out, that, somehow it was himself who ‘twigged’ White’s lies first, when in actual fact, while he was up White’s arse with the rest of them, blogs like this were already tipplin tae what whyte was all about. That whole article shows whit a total wanker jackson really is. He thinks we all suffer from some sort of mass amnesia. Whit a clown.
McInnes for Hearts or Huns? Keeping the succession of ex-rangers players at these clubs when we all know they need a clean broom. Mistakes of the past you say… Long may it continue. HH
Whyte may have a book coming out.
Jingle Jangle Jackson an inept Sheister.
King a conman, proven more than once.
They attract a nice kind of person at Ibrox… Like flies around some Horse sh!t.
Keith ‘ inaction ‘ Jackson . The self titled ‘ Scotland’s most influential columnist ‘ employed by the daily Record who calls itself ‘ SCOTLAND’S CHAMPION ‘! Can you see the common thread there ? A glorified typist who could not figure out how many games to be played in the league 2 weeks prior to the first Celtic v theRangers derby at Celtic Park in which Celtic thrashed the tribute act 3-0 . He had to be informed by his drinking pal –wee Scotty – his understudy at the ailing tabloid . It just heats up the old cockles….dintit ? Ppaarrrppp….
Yes, and it took only a couple of hours of an evening then for internet bampots to
confirm that Craig Whyte was also known as Craig ‘White’ on
Companies House filings – and for good measure he also had 2 birth dates!
And is it not unbelievable that Jackson is still employed by the same,
withering rag today!?
The DR – and Jackson – won’t be missed. 🙂
Keep up the great work guys.