The Chairman of the British Press Complaints Commission, Lord Wakeham, is trying to curb the jingoism of the British press and has warned newspaper editors not to carry articles that might incite violence now that the World Cup is upon us. Wonderful politically incorrect headlines from the past were cited in discussions. Among them "Gotcha" when the British sank the Belgrano with huge loss of life and "Up Yours Delors" during some Euro row.
The Commission has a difficult job ahead. Recently the Star covered the story about the very few tickets the French had allocated to British fans. In an editorial headlined "Frogs need a good kicking", the paper declared "a good kicking on their Gallic derrieres is the only language the greedy frogs understand". Great stuff if you don't take it seriously.