The Gloucestershire Echo’s exclusive on the prime minister’s son
Euan Blair being involved in an accident in Cheltenham was picked up by
most of the national press.
The newspaper received a tip-off that the PM’s eldest child had been the driver of a car that collided with a cyclist.
After
sending reporter Marc Rath to the scene of the accident and making
inquiries, it became apparent that the incident took place on the same
day as Euan’s graduation ceremony in Bristol, about 50 miles away.
Assistant
editor Chris Maguire said: “We put a call in to the police and they
were being particularly careful about what was said.
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“At that
stage we hadn’t had it officially confirmed that Euan was the driver,
but it was pretty apparent that the response of everyone involved meant
it wasn’t a typical accident.
“It was a bit like a jigsaw and
when the police said the driver was 21 – the same age as Euan – we
decided to phone 10 Downing Street.”
The press office confirmed
the story and then it was just a question of hoping the exclusive did
not appear anywhere else before hitting the Echo’s front page last
Friday.
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Editor Anita Syvret said: “It was an excellent piece of journalism.”
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