Long term readers will know that my relationship with the Daily Torygraph City Diary has not always been of the friendliest variety. First there was gorgeous pouting hackette Anna White but when she left her shoes were filled by Fleet Street kitten Harriet Denys. Neither has been exactly kind to me and so when I learned that this column was to write a piece on my little spat with Sefton Resources ( the company that says its output is going up when it was in fact falling and now sues me for libel for suggest that this might be misleading) I naturally feared the worst.
Oddly Ms Denys did not actually call me for my side of the story. Last time she covered Sefton she claimed that Brokerman Dan was only being brutal because he was short of the stock, citing sources, i.e Sefton’s loathsome PR machine, for this utterly defamatory and unfounded allegation of market abuse. And so I thought I better call pouting Harriet to put my side of the story.
I pointed out that Sefton had said output was rising when it was falling as it prepared to raise money by issuing shares. I asked her if she thought this was misleading? She admitted that she did. Clearly I must call her as an expert witness in the forthcoming libel trial.
Do I expect a fair report in the paper tomorrow? Er…no. I am sure that Sefton’s PR machine is far more charming than I am. And for the Telegraph City Diary to be even balanced towards me would break the habit of a lifetime.