A nasty example of tendentious reporting was found in last night's Evening News' account of the defeat of the N.E.C. when the Transport & General Workers' Union wetion calling for defence cuts was passed by Conference.
The report makes out that this might have been owing to an accident ~ the A.E.U.'s Delegate having put the wrong card in the ballot box by mistake, in the absence of Sir William Carron.
The facts are that the 4.E.U, Delegation had a vote within the Conference Hall - a pad being gassed round - and it was unanimously agreed to support the T. &G. W. U.'s resolution, The one fact that the News have got right regarding this particular incident is that Sir William was absent at the time.
That is not to say that 768,000 votes may not have been wrongly cast, in another direction, on other occasions.
Whether the Evening News' scoop was intended to enhance the prospects of the right wing candidates in the forthcoming elections is not clear.
Either way a nasty episode. Delegates will draw a moral.