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65-682: The dam was built to provide irrigation for the Savannah Sugar Company (SSC), a large-scale sugar cane plantation and processing company set up as a joint venture between the Nigerian Federal Government and the Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC), London . The CDC was managing agent for the project, and the construction contract was awarded to NECCO, a company largely owned by the government. The Savannah Sugar Company

130-412: A US lecturer. The site was listed as a source that is "purposefully fake with the intent of satire/comedy, which can offer important critical commentary on politics and society, but have the potential to be shared as actual/literal news." The Eye rejected any such classification, saying its site "contains none of these things, as the small selection of stories online are drawn from the journalism pages of

195-615: A building praised by his enemy Nikolaus Pevsner ) and carried on by his daughter Candida Lycett Green . For four decades beginning in 1978, it was edited by Gavin Stamp under the pseudonym Piloti . The column notably features a discussion of the state of public architecture and especially the preservation (or otherwise) of Britain's architectural heritage. Street of Shame is a column addressing journalistic misconduct and excesses, hypocrisy, and undue influence by proprietors and editors, mostly sourced from tipoffs —it sometimes serves as

260-447: A cartoon headstone inscribed with an extensive list of well-known names, and the epitaph : "They did not sue in vain". In the 1971 case of Arkell v Pressdram , Arkell's lawyers wrote a letter which concluded: "His attitude to damages will be governed by the nature of your reply." Private Eye responded: "We acknowledge your letter of 29th April referring to Mr J. Arkell. We note that Mr Arkell's attitude to damages will be governed by

325-415: A comic rather than a serious magazine. Both its satire and investigative journalism have led to numerous libel suits. It is known for the use of pseudonyms by its contributors, many of whom have been prominent in public life—this even extends to a fictional proprietor, Lord Gnome. The forerunner of Private Eye was The Walopian , an underground magazine published at Shrewsbury School by pupils in

390-462: A good long-term solution to the problems of the region." The magazine was both criticized and praised for its stance, with some accusing the magazine of antisemitism , while others called it brave for criticizing the Israeli government. Critics such as investigative journalist David Collier condemned the magazine, while supporters defended its critique as not antisemitic but a legitimate questioning of

455-683: A more confrontational way. As well as many one-off cartoons, Private Eye features several regular comic strips: Some of the magazine's former cartoon strips include: At various times, Private Eye has also used the work of Ralph Steadman , Wally Fawkes , Timothy Birdsall , Martin Honeysett , Willie Rushton , Gerald Scarfe , Robert Thompson, Ken Pyne , Geoff Thompson, "Jorodo", Ed McLachlan , Simon Pearsall, Kevin Woodcock , Brian Bagnall, Kathryn Lamb and George Adamson . Private Eye has, from time to time, produced various spin-offs from

520-406: A partial victory and eventually settled with the magazine. The case threatened to bankrupt Private Eye , which turned to its readers for financial support in the form of a "Goldenballs Fund". Goldsmith was referred to as "Jaws". Goldsmith's solicitor Peter Carter-Ruck was involved in many litigation cases against Private Eye; the magazine refers to his firm as "Carter-Fuck". Robert Maxwell won

585-491: A significant sum from the magazine when he sued over their suggestion that he looked like a criminal. Hislop claimed that his summary of the case: "I've just given a fat cheque to a fat Czech" was the only example of a joke being told on News at Ten . Sonia Sutcliffe , wife of the "Yorkshire Ripper" Peter Sutcliffe , sued over allegations in January 1981 that she had used her connection to her husband to make money. Outside

650-521: A special "subscription cancellation coupon" for disgruntled readers to send in) and the Soham murders of 2002 all attracted similar complaints. Following the 7/7 London bombings the magazine's cover (issue number 1137) featured Prime Minister Tony Blair saying to London mayor Ken Livingstone : "We must track down the evil mastermind behind the bombers...", to which Livingstone replies: "...and invite him around for tea", about his controversial invitation of

715-664: A venue for the settling of scores within the trade, and is a source of friction with editors. This work formed the basis of much of Ian Hislop's testimony to the Leveson Inquiry , and Leveson was complimentary about the magazine and the column. The term street of shame is a reference to Fleet Street, the former centre of British journalism, and has become synonymous with it. The Rotten Boroughs column focuses on actual or alleged wrongdoing in local or regional governments and elections, for example, corruption, nepotism, hypocrisy and incompetence. The column's name derives from

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780-510: Is a British fortnightly satirical and current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely recognised for its prominent criticism and lampooning of public figures. It is also known for its in-depth investigative journalism into under-reported scandals and cover-ups. Private Eye is Britain's best-selling current affairs news magazine , and such

845-526: Is dangerous in that it is likely to be read by people who are concerned about the safety of the vaccine. A doubting parent who reads this might be convinced there is a genuine problem, and the absence of any proper references will prevent them from checking the many misleading statements." In a review article published in 2010, after Wakefield was disciplined by the General Medical Council , regular columnist Phil Hammond , who contributes to

910-575: Is its long-term popularity and impact that many of its recurring in-jokes have entered popular culture in the United Kingdom. The magazine bucks the trend of declining circulation for print media, having recorded its highest-ever circulation in the second half of 2016. It is privately owned and highly profitable. With a "deeply conservative resistance to change", it has resisted moves to online content or glossy format: it has always been printed on cheap paper and resembles, in format and content,

975-552: Is one of the most sued people in Britain. From 1969 to the mid-1980s, the magazine was represented by human rights lawyer Geoffrey Bindman . The writer Colin Watson was the first person to successfully sue Private Eye , objecting to being described as "the little-known author who ... was writing a novel, very Wodehouse but without jokes". He was awarded £750. The cover of the tenth-anniversary issue in 1971 (number 257) showed

1040-546: Is the development finance institution of the UK government . The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is responsible for the organisation, and is the sole shareholder. It has an investment portfolio valued around US$ 7.1 billion (year-end 2020)  and since 2011 is focused on the emerging markets of South Asia and Africa via its direct investment and cooperation with important global stakeholders such as Standard Chartered . The original Colonial Development Corporation

1105-577: The Dear Bill column, mocking Thatcher as an amiable, golf-playing drunk. The column was collected in a series of books and became a stage play ("Anyone for Denis?") in which Wells played the fictional Denis, a character now inextricably "blurred with the real historical figure", according to Ingrams. In The Back is an investigative journalism section notably associated with journalist Paul Foot (the Eye has always published its investigative journalism at

1170-599: The Rotten Borough column "at least 13 times" described him as corrupt and claimed he used "the race card " to avoid criticism. A victory for the magazine came in late 2001 when a libel case brought by Cornish chartered accountant John Stuart Condliffe was dropped after six weeks with an out-of-court settlement in which Condliffe paid £100,000 towards the Eye 's defence. Writing in The Guardian , Jessica Hodgson noted, "The victory against Condliffe—who

1235-459: The "Dirty Digger". Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III are known as "Brenda" and "Brian" respectively, names that originated with palace servants. The first half of each issue, which consists chiefly of news reporting and investigative journalism , tends to include these in-jokes more subtly, to maintain journalistic integrity, while the second half, generally characterised by unrestrained parody and cutting humour, tends to present itself in

1300-620: The "Medicine Balls" column under the pseudonym "MD", stated that: " Private Eye got it wrong in its coverage of MMR" in maintaining its support for Wakefield's position long after shortcomings in his work had emerged. Senior figures in the trade union movement have accused the publication of having a classist anti-union bias, with Unite chief of staff Andrew Murray describing Private Eye as "a publication of assiduous public school boys" and adding that it has "never once written anything about trade unions that isn't informed by cynicism and hostility". The Socialist Worker also wrote that "For

1365-458: The "Signal Failures" column about the railways. Stories sometimes originate from writers for more mainstream publications who cannot get their stories published by their main employers. Private Eye has traditionally lagged other magazines in adopting new typesetting and printing technologies. At the start, it was laid out with scissors and paste and typed on three IBM Electric typewriters— italics , pica and elite —lending an amateurish look to

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1430-539: The "Street of Shame" column, named after Fleet Street , the former home of many papers. It reports on parliamentary and national political issues, with regional and local politics covered in equal depth under the "Rotten Boroughs" column (named after the rotten boroughs of the pre- Reform Act of 1832 House of Commons). Extensive investigative journalism is published under the "In the Back" section, often tackling cover-ups and unreported scandals. A financial column called "In

1495-414: The 18th-century rotten boroughs . There are also several recurring miniature sections . The magazine has occasionally published special editions dedicated to the reporting of particular events, such as government inadequacy over the 2001 foot and mouth outbreak , the conviction in 2001 of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing (an incident regularly covered since by "In the Back"), and

1560-565: The City" (referring to the City of London ), written by Michael Gillard under the pseudonym "Slicker", has exposed several significant financial scandals and described unethical business practices. Some contributors to Private Eye are media figures or specialists in their field who write anonymously, often under humorous pseudonyms, such as "Dr B Ching" (a reference to the Beeching cuts ) who writes

1625-693: The Islamic theologian Yusuf al-Qaradawi to London. During the early 2000s Private Eye published many stories on the MMR vaccine controversy , supporting the interpretation by Andrew Wakefield of published research in The Lancet by the Royal Free Hospital 's Inflammatory Bowel Disease Study Group, which described an apparent link between the vaccine and autism and bowel problems. Many of these stories accused medical researchers who supported

1690-608: The announcement the change was to "grow economies across Asia, Africa and the Caribbean while drawing them closer towards free-market democracies and building a network of liberty across the world". A group of NGOs and trade unions criticised the change as part of a move to "repurpose BII as an institution that focuses solely on private-sector investment and profit-making, rather than development goals and poverty reduction", and as part of offering an alternative to foreign partners to loans from China. Private Eye Private Eye

1755-640: The back of the magazine). Private Eye was one of the journalistic organisations involved in sifting and analysing the Paradise Papers , and this commentary appears in In the Back . Nooks and Corners (originally Nooks and Corners of the New Barbarism ), an architectural column severely critical of architectural vandalism and "barbarism", notably modernism and brutalism , was originally founded by John Betjeman in 1971 (his first article attacked

1820-446: The column "True Stories", featuring cuttings from the national press. The gossip columnist Nigel Dempster wrote extensively for the magazine before he fell out with Ian Hislop and other writers, while Foot wrote on politics, local government and corruption. The receptionist and general factotum from 1984 to 2014 was Hilary Lowinger . Ingrams continued as editor until 1986 when he was succeeded by Hislop. Ingrams remains chairman of

1885-489: The columns of the Daily Mail . It is the anti-establishment journal of the establishment." The 2004 Christmas issue received many complaints after it featured Pieter Bruegel 's painting of a nativity scene , in which one wise man said to another: "Apparently, it's David Blunkett 's" (who at the time was involved in a scandal in which he was thought to have impregnated a married woman). Many readers sent letters accusing

1950-604: The company's canals. In 2015, seven different communities were flooded in Adamawa State following the heavy overflow of water from Kiri Dam located in the state. In an attempt to ensure safety for the victims, Adamawa State Emergency Management Agency under the leadership of Mr. Haruna Furo provided a rescue camp that accommodated the victims. However, there was no recorded death from the massive flood. 29,000 hectares of land were expropriated without compensation, eventually displacing 20,000 people. Resettlement assistance

2015-626: The court in May 1989, Hislop quipped about the then-record award of £600,000 in damages: "If that's justice then I'm a banana." The sum was reduced on appeal to £60,000. Readers raised a considerable sum in the "Bananaballs Fund", and Private Eye donated the surplus to the families of Peter Sutcliffe's victims. In Sonia Sutcliffe's 1990 libel case against the News of the World , it emerged that she had indeed benefited financially from her husband's crimes, although

Kiri Dam - Misplaced Pages Continue

2080-471: The dam in 2004 rated its condition "good". In October 2008 the United States Trade and Development Agency issued a request for proposals on constructing a 35 MW hydro-electric power plant at the dam. Commonwealth Development Corporation British International Investment , (formerly CDC Group plc , Commonwealth Development Corporation , and Colonial Development Corporation )

2145-524: The details of Private Eye ' s article had been inaccurate. In 1994, retired police inspector Gordon Anglesea successfully sued the Eye and three other media outlets for libel over allegations that he had indecently assaulted under-aged boys in Wrexham in the 1980s. In October 2016, he was convicted of historic sex offences. Hislop said the magazine would not attempt to recover the £80,000 damages awarded to Anglesea, stating: "I can't help thinking of

2210-400: The firm's third fund. Following its reorganisation, CDC ceased making direct investments and became purely a fund of funds investment company. During this period it grew in value from £1.2 billion to £2.8 billion, investing in almost 1000 businesses in 70 developing countries. These businesses employed almost a million people and paid over US$ 3 billion a year in taxes. CDC was

2275-509: The first satirical nightclub in London—purchased Private Eye in 1962, together with Nicholas Luard , and was a long-time contributor. Others essential to the development of the magazine were Auberon Waugh , Claud Cockburn (who had run a pre-war scandal sheet, The Week ), Barry Fantoni , Gerald Scarfe , Tony Rushton, Patrick Marnham and Candida Betjeman . Christopher Logue was another long-time contributor, providing

2340-403: The following issue's cover —a cartoon depicting Santa 's sleigh shredded by a wind farm : one said: "To use a picture of Our Lord Father Christmas and his Holy Reindeer being torn limb from limb while flying over a windfarm is inappropriate and blasphemous." In November 2016, Private Eye 's official website appeared on a list of over 150 "fake news" websites compiled by Melissa Zimdars,

2405-511: The holding company. Private Eye often reports on the misdeeds of powerful and important individuals and, consequently, has received numerous libel writs throughout its history. These include three issued by James Goldsmith (known in the magazine as "(Sir) Jammy Fishpaste" and "Jonah Jammy fingers") and several by Robert Maxwell (known as "Captain Bob"), one of which resulted in the award of costs and reported damages of £225,000, and attacks on

2470-491: The magazine by Maxwell through a book, Malice in Wonderland , and a one-off magazine, Not Private Eye . Its defenders point out that it often carries news that the mainstream press will not print for fear of legal reprisals or because the material is of minority interest. As well as covering a wide range of current affairs, Private Eye is also known for highlighting the errors and hypocritical behaviour of newspapers in

2535-414: The magazine for many years. They include euphemisms designed to avoid the notoriously plaintiff-friendly English libel laws, such as replacing the word "drunk" with " tired and emotional ", or using the phrase "Ugandan discussions" to denote illicit sexual exploits; and more obvious parodies using easily recognisable stereotypes, such as the lampooning of Conservative MPs as " Sir Bufton Tufton ". Some of

2600-467: The magazine of blasphemy and anti-Christian attitudes. One stated that the "witless, gutless buggers wouldn't dare mock Islam ". It has, however, regularly published Islam-related humour such as the cartoon which portrayed a "Taliban careers master asking a pupil: What would you like to be when you blow up?". Many letters in the first issue of 2005 disagreed with the former readers' complaints, and some were parodies of those letters, "complaining" about

2665-658: The magazine", adding that "even US college students might recognise that the Headmistress's letter is not really from a troubled high school". Zimdars later removed the website from her list, after the Eye had contacted her for clarification. In 2023, Private Eye published a satirical cover on the Israel–Hamas war , reading "This magazine may contain some criticism of the Israeli government and may suggest that killing everyone in Gaza as revenge for Hamas atrocities may not be

Kiri Dam - Misplaced Pages Continue

2730-414: The magazine, including: Some have found the magazine's irreverence and sometimes controversial humour offensive. Following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997, Private Eye printed a cover headed "Media to blame". Under this headline was a picture of many hundreds of people outside Buckingham Palace , with one person commenting that the papers were "a disgrace", another agreeing, saying that it

2795-481: The magazine. In 1976 James Goldsmith brought criminal libel charges against the magazine, meaning that if found guilty, editor Richard Ingrams and the author of the article, Patrick Marnham , could be imprisoned. He sued over allegations that he had conspired with the Clermont Set to assist Lord Lucan to evade the police, who wanted him in connection with the murder of his children's nanny. Goldsmith won

2860-423: The mid-1950s and edited by Richard Ingrams , Willie Rushton , Christopher Booker and Paul Foot . The Walopian (a play on the school magazine name The Salopian ) mocked school spirit, traditions and the masters. After National Service , Ingrams and Foot went as undergraduates to Oxford University , where they met future collaborators including Peter Usborne , Andrew Osmond and John Wells . The magazine

2925-470: The nature of our reply and would therefore be grateful if you would inform us what his attitude to damages would be, were he to learn that the nature of our reply is as follows: fuck off." The plaintiff withdrew the threatened lawsuit. The magazine has since used this exchange as a euphemism for a blunt and coarse dismissal, i.e.: "We refer you to the reply given in the case of Arkell v. Pressdram ". As with " tired and emotional " this usage has spread beyond

2990-498: The needs of development". On 22 October 2010 the International Development Committee announced that it was to conduct an inquiry into CDC to examine issues such as its effectiveness and possible reforms, including its abolition. Their report was published on 3 March 2011 with the government's response delivered on 18 May 2011. In 2011 CDC implemented a new business plan, focusing its investments on

3055-406: The pages. For some years after layout tools became available the magazine retained this technique to maintain its look, although the three older typewriters were replaced with an IBM composer. Today the magazine is still predominantly in black and white (though the cover and some cartoons inside appear in colour) and there is more text and less white space than is typical for a modern magazine. Much of

3120-432: The past 50 years, the satirical magazine Private Eye has upset and enraged the powerful. Its mix of humour and investigation has tirelessly challenged the hypocrisy of the elite. ... But it also has serious weaknesses. Among the witty—if sometimes tired—spoof articles and cartoons, there is a nasty streak of snobbery and prejudice. Its jokes about the poor, women and young people rely on lazy stereotypes you might expect from

3185-555: The poorer countries of South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa , as well as once again providing direct investments to businesses alongside its fund of funds model. In November 2021, the FCDO announced that it would rebrand the CDC as British International Investment (BII) in 2022 as part of a strategy to deepen economic, security and development ties globally, increasing its financing to 9 billion pounds by 2025. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in

3250-716: The proportionality of Israel's response. Ian Hislop is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the most sued man in English legal history. Private Eye has long been known for attracting libel lawsuits which, in English law , can easily lead to the award of damages. The publication "sets aside almost a quarter of its turnover for paying out in libel defeats" although the magazine frequently finds other ways to defuse legal tensions, such as by printing letters from aggrieved parties. As editor since 1986, Ian Hislop

3315-610: The purported MMR vaccine controversy (since shown to be medical fraud committed by Andrew Wakefield ) in 2002. A special issue was published in 2004 to mark the death of long-time contributor Paul Foot . In 2005, The Guardian and Private Eye established the Paul Foot Award (referred to colloquially as the "Footy"), with an annual £10,000 prize fund, for investigative/campaigning journalism in memory of Foot. The magazine has many recurring in-jokes and convoluted references, often comprehensible only to those who have read

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3380-537: The shelves of some newsagents. These included WHSmith , which had previously refused to stock Private Eye until well into the 1970s and was characterised in the magazine as "WH Smugg" or "WH Smut" on account of its policy of stocking pornographic magazines. The issues that followed the Ladbroke Grove rail crash in 1999 (number 987), the September 11 attacks of 2001 (number 1037; the magazine even included

3445-461: The subject of extensive investigations by the magazine Private Eye , which devoted seven pages to criticizing the organization in September 2010. Amongst other allegations, it claimed that CDC had moved away from financing beneficial international development towards seeking large profits from schemes that enriched CDC's managers while bringing little or no benefit to the poor; and that when Actis

3510-569: The terms have fallen into disuse when their hidden meanings have become better known. The magazine often deliberately misspells the names of certain organisations, such as "Crapita" for the outsourcing company Capita , "Carter-Fuck" for the law firm Carter-Ruck , and " The Grauniad " for The Guardian (the latter a reference to the newspaper's frequent typos in its days as The Manchester Guardian ). Certain individuals may be referred to by another name, for example, Piers Morgan as "Piers Moron", Richard Branson as "Beardie", and Rupert Murdoch as

3575-518: The text is printed in the standard Times New Roman font. The former "Colour Section" was printed in black and white like the rest of the magazine: only the content was colourful. A series of parody columns referring to the Prime Minister of the day has been a long-term feature of Private Eye . While satirical, during the 1980s, Ingrams and John Wells wrote an affectionate series of fictional letters from Denis Thatcher to Bill Deedes in

3640-461: The vaccine's safety of having conflicts of interest because of funding from the pharmaceutical industry. Initially dismissive of Wakefield, the magazine rapidly moved to support him, in 2002 publishing a 32-page MMR Special Report that supported Wakefield's assertion that MMR vaccines "should be given individually at not less than one-year intervals." The British Medical Journal issued a contemporary press release that concluded: "The Eye report

3705-528: The witnesses who came forward to assist our case at the time, one of whom later committed suicide telling his wife that he never got over not being believed. Private Eye will not be looking to get our money back from the libel damages. Others have paid a far higher price." Anglesea died in December 2016, six weeks into a 12-year prison sentence. In 1999, former Hackney London Borough Council executive Samuel Yeboah won substantial damages and an apology after

3770-457: Was acquired by Dangote Industries in 2002. In 2009 the company owned 32,000 hectares of land near the dam or which 6,330 were in use and employed about 5,000 people. The company was producing about 50,000 tons of sugar annually, supplying the Nigerian market which consumes 1.1 million tons each year. Over 1,000 hectares of irrigated rice and other crops were being grown using

3835-463: Was converted from a statutory corporation to a public limited company renamed CDC Group plc, with all shares owned by the UK Government. In July 2004 CDC spun out an emerging markets private equity fund manager, Actis Capital , with a 60% stake sold to the management team. CDC remained an active sponsor of Actis's investment activities, committing the equivalent of 650 million US dollars to

3900-664: Was established as a statutory corporation in 1948 by Clement Attlee 's post-war Labour government , to assist British colonies in the development of agriculture. Following the independence of many colonies, it was renamed the Commonwealth Development Corporation in 1963 and was permitted to invest outside the Commonwealth in 1969. As part of the Commonwealth Development Corporation Act 1999, CDC

3965-412: Was impossible to get one anywhere, and another saying, "Borrow mine. It's got a picture of the car." Following the abrupt change in reporting from newspapers immediately following her death, the issue also featured a mock retraction from "all newspapers" of everything negative that they had ever said about Diana. This was enough to cause a flood of complaints and the temporary removal of the magazine from

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4030-777: Was inadequate. The dam has affected the lower reaches of the Gongola River. Flood peaks dropped from 1,420 m³/second to 1,256 m³/second, while flows in dryer seasons increased from 5.7 m³/second to 21 m³/second. The river downstream from the dam has narrowed and become less winding, with fewer separate channels. The people living in communities around the dam use it daily. They use it for fishing, bathing, washing and collecting water for general use. The dam also brings about environmental and health issues for those communities. There have been flooding, soil erosion, destruction of farmlands and buildings, dysentry, malaria, typhoid, skin diseases and cholera. An assessment of

4095-456: Was its first managing director. Its subsequent editor, Ingrams, who was then pursuing a career as an actor, shared the editorship with Booker from around issue number 10 and took over from issue 40. At first, Private Eye was a vehicle for juvenile jokes: an extension of the original school magazine, and an alternative to Punch . Peter Cook —who in October 1961 founded The Establishment ,

4160-454: Was properly begun when they learned of a new printing process, photo-litho offset , which meant that anybody with a typewriter and Letraset could produce a magazine. The publication was initially funded by Osmond and launched in 1961. It is agreed that Osmond suggested the title, and sold many of the early copies in person, in London pubs. The magazine was initially edited by Booker and designed by Rushton, who drew cartoons for it. Usborne

4225-540: Was spun out it was given an "implausibly low valuation". The Actis deal was also the subject of criticism by British politicians. On 12 October 2010, the Secretary of State for International Development , Andrew Mitchell announced to Parliament that the British Government was to reconfigure CDC, saying that whilst he applauded its financial success, it had also "become less directly engaged in serving

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