It would appear that the spirit of Lord Rothermere of the inter-war years has not been fully exorcised from the Mail.
The quintessentially British newspaper famously supported Mosley’s British Union of Fascists in the 1930s.
This was at the same time as chap called Billy Fullerton and his street thugs “the Billy Boys” were splashing around in Fenian blood in Glasgow.
The Bridgeton sociopath is, of course, still fondly remembered by the Ibrox klan every time they extoll him in song.
In the late 1930s, Billy Fullerton joined Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists and he even started a Glasgow branch of the Ku Klux Klan.
As well as their well-known hatred of people of colour in America the Klan are also an anti-Catholic and anti-Semitic organisation.
Many of the Klan’s founder members were of “Scots Irish” heritage, descendants of Lowland Scots who had been “Planted” in Ulster in the 17th century.
So like the Ibrox chaps the Mail has both got some previous when it comes to xenophobia and far right politics.
However, I was still taken aback by this piece which remarked on the physical appearance of the people queuing for the new Apple mobile phone.
I had thought that even the Mail would balk at publishing such an observation.
Inhabitants of Planet Fitba may be interested to know that Mail columnist Richard Littlejohn is best buddies with Ramsay Smith .
Media House’s Executive Director and the company’s main man at Ibrox have shared many a jolly night out and family holidays with Mr Littlejohn.
As Mr Green’s statements, many penned by Ramsay, become more spirited one wonders if he has asked his good friend Richard for advice on vitriol and venom.
Leading author David Aaronovitch once described a book by Mr Littlejohn as a “400-page recruiting pamphlet for the British National Party.”
However, Mr Aaronovitch had actually read the book before giving his judgment, unlike many of the clairvoyant literary chaps who did their own critique of my book before it was even printed!
When Littlejohn was ‘transferred’ from the Sun to the Daily Mail in 2005, Paul Dacre the Mail’s editor in chief said Littlejohn was returning to, “his spiritual home.”
I am reliably informed that Mr Littlejohn has been a guest at Ibrox on matchdays.
So he will be aware of the unique ambience.
Perhaps he will write about his impressions of Ibrox in his column.
Of course now that there are no pesky match delegates to report them then the old song sheet may make a comeback down Govan way.
If the bears do break into a rendition of the “Billy Boys” at Ibrox then I am sure that the ghost of old Lord Rothermere from the 1930s would warmly approve…
