Politicians allowed Murdoch to be kingmaker to their detriment

“UNIVERSITY fined for not flying EU flag,” the headline went in some British newspapers last week, forcing the European Commission to set the record straight about this latest eurosceptic myth.

But the myth is still more popular on Google web searches than the clarification — and millions of Britons believe it — together with stories about scrapping the Queen’s head on postage stamps; that farmers must give their pigs toys; Bingo players must stop calling “Two fat ladies”, and, the clincher of them all, the EU is going to change the name of the English channel to “Anglo-French pond”.

One thing you notice when working in Brussels as a correspondent is that much of the media has a political bias dictated by its owners. You hear it in the questions asked by journalists from the various countries. A healthy scepticism is a prerequisite for a reporter, but the scepticism should not be limited to one side or the other.