Richard Desmond: The man, the mogul, the scandal
The Story
The Times
3.9 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 2 July 2020
⏱️ 25 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
As the Robert Jenrick planning scandal unfolded, investigative reporter Gabriel Pogrund wanted to speak directly with one of the men at the centre: Richard Desmond.
The former newspaper owner and porn publisher has had a unique career.
So who is he, and how did he get close to the British political establishment?
Guests:
Gabriel Pogrund is a politics and investigations reporter at The Sunday Times
Host: Manveen Rana
Clips: BBC, ITV News, Channel 4 News, The Daily Express, The Telegraph
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Richard Desmond is the billionaire at the heart of Westminster's latest scandal. |
| 0:07.0 | Richard Desmond did not respond to a request for comment. |
| 0:10.0 | The decision on his development though is now out of Mr. Generic's hands. |
| 0:15.0 | But it's not the first time he's made headlines. |
| 0:18.0 | There was this allegation back in 2004, for example. |
| 0:22.0 | He launched an extraordinary tirade accusing the Chief Executive of the Telegraph of |
| 0:30.1 | being a miserable little piece of shit, |
| 0:32.8 | saying that all Germans were Nazis, |
| 0:36.6 | and I think he marched around the room, Goose stepping. |
| 0:40.3 | The former pawn publisher and media mogul started as an outsider. |
| 0:45.0 | So how did he end up at the centre of a British political scandal? |
| 0:50.0 | You're listening to stories of our times from The Times and the Sunday Times. |
| 0:56.0 | I'm Manveen Rana. |
| 0:58.0 | Today, Richard Desmond, the man, the mogul, the scandal. This is a passenger announcement. You can now book your train on Uber and get 10% back in credits to spend on Uber eats so you can order your own fries instead of eating |
| 1:26.1 | everyone else's. |
| 1:29.1 | Trains now on Uber. |
| 1:30.8 | T's and C's apply. |
| 1:31.8 | Check the Uber app. |
| 1:38.0 | I don't know how many other people can say this. |
| 1:41.0 | I am among the few who can say they've read Richard Desmond's biography. |
| 1:49.0 | Gabriel Pogrand is politics and investigations reporter at the Sunday Times, and lately he's |
| 1:54.8 | been diving into the world of British billionaire Richard Desmond, partly by plowing |
... |
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