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The gloves go on - and come off - as Prince Charles visits the flooded Somerset Levels, and makes plain his opinion of official efforts to stem the tide. Photograph: ITN

Prince Charles gets down to business
and Cameron quickly falls into line

Wednesday 5 February, 2014

The Prince of Wales's visit to the Somerset Levels left half the papers looking flat-footed.

The Times, for example, had the West Country-based colour writer Simon de Bruxelles on duty. In the normal course of events, intros about tractor-borne wooden thrones and warm welcomes would have been fine. But this turned into a hard news story. 

The Prince looked furious as he surveyed the floods and virtually spat out his Francis Urquhart response when asked if he thought enough had been done. He strayed dangerously into the world of politics with his talk of the tragedy that nothing had been done for so long. 

The Telegraph chose the right picture and wrote it straight; but everyone else failed somewhere along the line - either with drop intros or jolly boating weather pictures.
The Guardian and Mail cottoned on to the story, but chose the wrong main photographs. 

The Mirror did best on its spread inside - the wide version of the Telegraph picture has the people surrounding the Prince looking down as they pick their way through the water, but it gives the impression of a man who means business among people hanging their heads in shame. Pity it can't break the habit of writing all over pictures. The Sun's perfunctory coverage on page 17 was hopeless.

Oh yes, they're country folk, we big metropolitan journalists go out that way only to tease the worzels. Well the Prince didn't. He went to boost morale. He also coughed up some money (as did fellow toff the Duke of Westminster). Funny that Mr Cameron has followed up by belatedly opening the Government's coffers today and Environment Agency chief Lord Smith is stirring himself to take a look.

While we're on Lord Smith, it's perhaps worth pointing out to the Mirror that Charles did not blame 'inept Tories' for floods tragedy as its front-page puff asserts. He was careful enough not to apportion blame. The Government has failed. So has the Environment Agency.

And Chris Smith is a former Labour cabinet minister.

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Jubilee sold down the river

 What gives with the BBC?
 It clearly knew that the Thames pageant was important to its viewers: it  devoted four and a half hours of unbroken coverage to it. 
The website described it as one of the biggest events of the year, the first time in 350 years that such a flotilla had been seen on the Thames. Everyone knows we are a maritime nation. 
The event, as we were told several times, had been three years in the planning. 
How did the Beeb manage to make such a mess of it?

Read Gameoldgirl on the disastrous coverage of the rain-soaked Jubilee pageant here

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