Jon Clarke (Publisher & Editor)
A BRITISH expat has been convicted of assaulting undercover TV reporter Donal MacIntyre.
Chelsea fan James Wild, 47 – who had a business renting sun-beds on Estepona’s beaches – was found guilty of leading a brutal attack against the journalist.
Guildford Crown Court heard how the attack in a bar in Surrey came as a result of a 1999 BBC documentary exposing a gang of hooligans called the Chelsea Head Hunters.
The programme, in which MacIntyre went undercover, led to a six-year jail term for gang leader Jason Marriner.
Giving evidence at the trial, MacIntyre’s wife, Ameera, said: “They descended on him like a pack of wolves.
While they were kicking him they kept saying ‘get him – this is for Jason.”
Wild claimed he was an innocent bystander acting ‘100% in self-defence’.
But the jury believed otherwise and he is now awaiting his sentence in custody.
This certainly is a terrible injury, but Mr MacIntyre knows the risks. What the makers of these ‘investigative programmes’ often do not tell you is that they are also responsible for framing and stitching up many innocent parties, sometimes with the full cooperation of the Police, just to get a programme made and out on air. These programme makers are experts at editing and manipulating the truth. They can edit anything that helps their personal point of view. In this particular case there was nearly 400 hours of footage, and all that condenses down to a few minutes of soundbites. The person convicted did have some ‘previous’ – all deadly serious stuff, like nicking some lead off a roof and driving without insurance.
The bottom line is that I trust MacIntyre far less than the people he features in his programmes. If Mr MacIntyre really cared about his family, he would get out of this business altogether, and thus avoid risking further injury to himself and his loved ones. He just courts people into situations like this, and one has to ask why on earth he was sharing a bar (with his partner) along with some football supporters, after making a documentary such as this one. He has zero credibility.
“innocent” Fred? With the co-operation of the police? Sounds like liable and if these unknown parties were innocent then I’m sure they would have sued.
Stealing and driving without insurance are illegal. Surely you’re not saying after all your previous posts that the law shouldn’t apply equally to everyone? All those spanish politicians you’ve castigated for breaking the law and now this? MacIntyre has a right like everyone else to drink wherever he likes, if it’s open to the public, and make an honest living without fear of attack by scum.
Incredible Fred,
you are defending violent viscious scum masquerading as football supporters one has to ask do, you have previous as one of them because that’s exactly how it comes across.
Investigative work by journos has uncovered so much that would have remained hidden – Watergate/Abu Graib, the list is endless.
I think you have just thrown away any credibility to your posting on this forum.
Ben, just because the police say something does not mean it is always true, lol. There are mistakes, there are stitch-ups, there are people languishing in jail who are innocent, there are miscarriages of justice on all levels.
Of course Macintyre has got a right to drink anywhere he wants, but he was unwise to do so in the place he chose, that is my point. And, if you engage in exposes of the type he undertakes, you have to keep a very low profile, just as people in other similarly sensitive roles do. The further point also is that these programmes are highly dubious and frequentlty manipulate the truth.
Thank Stuart, I am incredible. Of course, I am not interested in what you think about my posts, or their credibility, I am only telling you my opinion, and you will have to accept that it is just that – my opinion. I don’t believe what I see on TV at face value, and I’m surprised you do. As for Watergate and Abu Graib, are you really comparing those to Macintyre’s level of work on this particular series lol?
I did not say that undercover investigations are not merited, I am just saying that when they have a half hour slot on ITV and an editor to please, they can quickly put together a very quick little programme on just about anything and anybody and edit it into a sinister story. Football hooligan moi? lol, light years from it.
I hope this man reforms himself. I share his name and don’t want to see anything else like this when doing a Google search.
Thugs will be thugs. Hope he gets ten.
Wake up all you berks
Donal Mcintyre makes me physically sick
This parasitic worm deserves to be eradicated for what he did.
He was paid by the Met to set up football fans, & encourage a few to over express themselves as boys often do.
Yes, fair enough of course there maybe the odd punch up but how many innocent people ever get hurt (answer zero to 0.1%)
Shame he or the Met cant infiltrate tAl Qaeda or IRA eh ?
Course not, he isnt brave enough to tackle real criminals.
James Wild should be appluaded for what he did.
Glen
Applauded for smacking a bird about that was suffering with a brain tumour?? Yeah, really brave of him, and not justified under any circumstance. If you have an issue be a man and sort it on your own, don’t get all your pals to jump in like a pack of wolves.
childish coward.