ITV News

WHY IS IT that people who doubt everything they hear from “the authorities” will believe just about anything from anybody else? Did you know, for example, that David Blunkett gave the story about an al-Qaeda attack on Canary Wharf to the Daily Mail in return for them agreeing not to cover the story about his paternity suit? You didn't? That is because it is nonsense. Not that that stopped the story being put about after I — and a man from the Mail — reported that “the authorities believed they had thwarted a 9/11-style attack”. Scepticism about this tale was a proper response. That is why I said on air that I could not verify the plot or say how close it had come to fruition. Doubt about the timing — on the eve of the Queen’s Speech — was perfectly proper, which is why I made clear that the timing was mine and not the Government’s. Suspicion that this was a another play in “the politics of fear” was, perhaps, inevitable even though we spelt out that this was a story about a threat said to have been averted and not a current danger. But no, some insist, it is all another Big Lie just like Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction. Thus, I find myself cast as either a liar or a willing dupe.

Call me naive, but when I heard this extraordinary claim being made by “a senior authoritative source” I thought that — with all the proper caveats — you might like to know. If you prefer to believe conspiracy theories, that is up to you.

Unusually there was some more interesting camerawork than the usual two fixed shots, so we got to see a bit more of the replica of the main set.

Were the shots 'moving', James, or just different static shots?

Yes, they were moving

Didn't think we'd seen that before from the replica studio, or have we? At least not during an OB interview...

This has got me thinking........(dangerous I know!)

How many studios do ITV News use?

We know there is the main theatre of news for main ITV1 and News Channel bulletins. Then there is the slightly 'odd' ITV London News studio which is sometimes used.

But at 18:00 on weekday evening when the main studio is used for rehearsals and the London studio for the London news - which studio is used for the ITV News Channel?

Im sure ive seen a 100% virtual reality studio which can change into anything - including the ITV theatre of news studio, a very basic cso one shot studio and also another studio with the same circular illuminated desk in. Are the last three all the same studio now?