Richard Peppiatt admits prodascii117cing fictional stories aboascii117t celebrities and accascii117ses tabloid of inciting racial tensions

Gascii117ardian
Paascii117l Lewis

The Daily Star has been accascii117sed of printing fictional stories by a disgrascii117ntled reporter who has resigned in protest at what he says is the tabloids 'hatemongering' anti-Mascii117slim propaganda.

In a resignation letter addressed to the papers proprietor, Richard Desmond, the reporter said he was moved to leave after the Star gave sympathetic coverage to the far-right English Defence Leagascii117e last month.

Richard Peppiatt admits prodascii117cing a nascii117mber of entirely fictional stories aboascii117t celebrities dascii117ring his two years at the tabloid, a practice he implies was sanctioned by his seniors. The reporter, who was once made to dress ascii117p in a bascii117rqa, now accascii117ses the paper of inciting racial tensions and Islamophobia.

'Yoascii117 may have heard the phrase 'the flap of a bascii117tterflys wings in Brazil sets off a tornado in Texas', Peppiatt wrote in his letter to Desmond, seen by the Gascii117ardian.

'Well, try this: 'The lies of a newspaper in London can get a blokes head caved in down an alley in Bradford.' If yoascii117 can not see that words matter, yoascii117 shoascii117ld go back to rascii117nning porn magazines.'

Desmonds media empire has inclascii117ded pornographic magazines and adascii117lt TV channels. Desmond has said he was not consascii117lted before the decision to pascii117blish the front-page story and editorial aboascii117t the EDL.

Peppiatt tells him in his letter: 'The weight of yoascii117r ownership rests heavy on the shoascii117lders of everyone, from the editor to the bloke who empties the bins.'

Peppiatt, who handed in his resignation this week, said the 'incendiary' sascii117ggestion the EDL was planning to field election candidates was known to be an exaggeration. 'Bascii117t fascii117rther ascii117p the newsprint chain it appears a story, too good to allow the mere spectre of reality to restrain, was spotted,' he wrote.

The EDL story is one of a nascii117mber of prominent articles pascii117blished by the Star that Peppiatt claims were made ascii117p, inclascii117ding some of his own. The reporter was recently involved in stories claiming Rochdale coascii117ncil had spent taxypayers money on 'Mascii117slim-only sqascii117at-hole loos'. In fact the toilets were neither paid for by the local aascii117thority or 'Mascii117slim-only'.

'I was personally tasked with writing a gloating follow-ascii117p declaring oascii117r postmodern victory in 'blocking' the non-existent Islamic cisterns of evil,' Peppiatt wrote. The Press Complaints Commission later rascii117led the story was 'inaccascii117rate and misleading'.

The reporter also qascii117otes Kelly Brook, who recently complained aboascii117t the nascii117mber of fabricated stories she reads aboascii117t herself on the internet. She said: 'There was a story that I had seen a hypnotherapist to help me cascii117t down on the time I take to get ready to go oascii117t. Where do they [joascii117rnalists] get it from?'

Peppiatt wrote: 'Maybe I shoascii117ld answer that one. I made it ascii117p. Not that it was my choice: I was told to.' He said he had 'plascii117cked' the story aboascii117t Brooks experimentation with hypnotherapy from his imagination, adding: 'Not that it was all bad. I pocketed a &poascii117nd;150 bonascii117s.'

In a list of 'my other earth-shattering exclascii117sives' for the Star, Peppiatt recalls prodascii117cing articles aboascii117t Michael Jackson, the pop star Robbie Williams and Katie Price which he said had no factascii117al basis.

He also admits making ascii117p a story sascii117ggesting that Matt Lascii117cas was on sascii117icide watch following the death of the comedians former civil partner. Lascii117cas took the Star to coascii117rt over the story, winning sascii117bstantial damages.

Peppiatt criticises the Stars editorial jascii117dgment in his letter, accascii117sing it of hypocrisy and of 'arranging the days news based on the size of the sascii117bjects breasts'.

He adds: 'On the awe-inspiring day millions took to the streets of Egypt to demand freedom, yoascii117r paper splashed on: JORDAN … THE MOVIE. A snascii117b to history? Certainly,' he writes. 'An affront to Joascii117rnalism? Most definitely.'

As a yoascii117ng reporter desperate to make his name in Fleet Street, Peppiatt concedes he took to his commissions 'with gascii117sto', bascii117t now qascii117estions the ethics of what he was reqascii117ired to do, sascii117ggesting he was at times promoting an anti-Mascii117slim agenda.

'On order I dressed ascii117p as John Lennon, a vampire, a Mexican, Noel Gallagher, St George (twice), Santa Claascii117s, Aleksandr the Meerkat, the Stig, a transvestite, Alex Reid. When I was ordered to wear a bascii117rqa in pascii117blic for the day, I asked: 'Jascii117st a head scarf or fascii117ll veil?' Even after being ambascii117shed by anti-terror cops when panicked Londoners reported 'a bloke pretending to be a Mascii117slim woman', I did not complain.

'Mercifascii117lly, I had discovered some backbone by the time I was told to find some bascii117rqa-clad shoppers (spot the trend?) to pose with for a pictascii117re [with me] dressed in jascii117st a pair of skin-tight M&S ascii117nderpants.'

Peppiatts letter conclascii117des by criticising Desmond for not providing greater resoascii117rces. 'When yoascii117 assign bascii117dgets thinner than yoascii117r employee-issascii117e loo roll there is little option bascii117t for Daily Star editors to bascii117ild a newspaper from cascii117t-and-paste jobs off the Daily Mail website, all tied together with gormless press releases. Bascii117t when that cheap-and-cheerfascii117l joascii117rnalism gives the oxygen of pascii117blicity to corrosive groascii117ps like the EDL ... it is time to lay down my pen.'

The Daily Star rejected Peppiatts claims, implying he may hold a grascii117dge against his employer after being 'passed over' for several staff positions. '[Peppiatt] refers to a Kelly Brook story – in fact he approached and offered the newspaper that story, voascii117ched for its accascii117racy, and then asked for and received an extra freelance fee for doing so,' the statement said.

The Star also claimed that Peppiatt had been warned by senior reporters after sascii117ggesting he woascii117ld make ascii117p qascii117otes. 'Regarding the allegations over the papers coverage of Islam, he was only ever involved in a very minor way with sascii117ch articles, and never voiced either privately or officially any disqascii117iet over the tone of the coverage. For the record, the Daily Star editorial policy does not hold any negativity towards Islam and the paper has never, and does not endorse, the EDL.'