Lewis Goodall

Lewis Goodall     (editor, author, presenter)
Alma mater	St John's College (Oxford)
Spouse	Tone Langengen
Presenter of The News Agents Investigates In office 30 August2022 - Present Employer Global Media & Entertainment  Political Editor BBC Newsnight In office January 2020 - Present Employer BBC  Political Correspondent In office January 2017 - January 2020 Employer Sky News  Producer  In office September 2012 - December 2016 Employer BBC  Researcher  In office July 2011 - September 2012 Employer IPPR  Researcher  In office October 2010 - September 2011 Employer Granada Television

Lewis Goodall is a British journalist who is presenter of the podcast The News Agents Investigates for Global Media & Entertainment. He was formerly Political Editor at BBC Newsnight and a political correspondent at Sky News.

On 19 August 2020, the New Statesman published an article by Lewis Goodall entitled "The schools scandal", which had the cover line: "How the Government's ineptitude created a lost generation".

'Bullying' George Galloway

On 5 May 2024, Lewis Goodall's 'bullying' interview with George Galloway backfired:

George Galloway, Leader of the Workers Party of Britain, hung up on Lewis Goodall in exasperation after being pressed to explain why he said 'gay relationships aren't equal to heterosexual relationships'.

Galloway told Novara Media that he does not want his children to be taught "that gay relationships are exactly the same and as normal as a mum, a dad and kids".

Asked by Lewis to explain his comments, Galloway claimed he was being ambushed and that he had been presented with an edited clip. "This is a clip of a clip, it is an edited clip you clipped out the point about the 97 genders," Galloway claimed.

"Don't think I don't know what I said, I'm not going to have a barney, I came on here to speak about the elections now you're ambushing me with an edited clip of an edited clip.

"I’ve got a simple answer, listen to the whole thing tonight and come back, you haven't given your listeners the whole thing, I'm going to hang up now. Fool me thinking your request to talk about the elections was genuine."

Most of the comments on the YouTube link were critical of LBC and/or supportive of Galloway, such as this comment:

"You totally misrepresented what you asked him to come on the call for, stop trying to bully Mr Galloway into your agenda.

"He has every right to his opinion and if you invite someone onto a show to talk about a subject such as election outcomes then discuss it."

BBC impartiality row

On 20 August 2020, The Telegraph reported:

The BBC is at the centre of a fresh impartiality row after Newsnight’s policy editor wrote an article for a Left-wing magazine attacking the Government’s handling of the exam crisis.

Lewis Goodall’s piece for the New Statesman was billed on the cover as an examination of “how the Government’s ineptitude created a lost generation”, and headlined: “How a Government led by technocrats nearly destroyed a generation of social mobility.”

Goodall, a former Labour activist who previously worked for the Left-wing Institute for Public Policy Research think tank, laid the problems at the door of the Prime Minister’s senior adviser. He wrote: “We cannot know the extent of Dominic Cummings’ involvement in this sorry episode, and it may be that he was not part of it at all. But his approach encapsulates a method of governing that was on full display throughout.”

The article was signed off by BBC management, who insisted that it was within the corporation’s impartiality guidelines.

It was criticised by Sir Robbie Gibb, former director of communications at No 10 and a former head of the BBC’s Westminster unit, who said: “Is there anyone more damaging to the BBC’s reputation for impartiality than Lewis Goodall? This is so off the scale I don’t even know where to begin.” Sir Robbie’s brother is Nick Gibb, the schools minister.

Support on Twitter

On 20 August 2020, this tweet in support of Lewis Goodall appeared:

@lewis_goodall is an outstanding journalist particularly over past few months, his reporting on #Alevel debacle has been great, literally doing what all journalists should be doing, calling out this government. The fact he's getting pulled on this by #gibb is farcical.

Books

Lewis Goodall is the author of a book on the recent history of the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn entitled "Left for Dead?: The Strange Death and Rebirth of the Labour Party".

 

A Document by Lewis Goodall

Title	Document type	Publication date	Subject(s)	Description
Document:The schools scandal	Article	19 August 2020	Dominic Cummings Boris Johnson Gavin Williamson Ofqual Michael Gove	How a government led by technocrats nearly destroyed a generation of social mobility

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