{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}} {{Use British English|date=December 2012}} The '''Red Rag''' blogsite was at the centre of a UK political scandal that became known as Smeargate. The scandal broke on 11 April 2009 when it was reported that [[Gordon Brown]]'s special adviser, [[Damian McBride]], had sent a series of emails to [[New Labour]] political blogger [[Derek Draper]] discussing plans to set up the blog which would be used to post false rumours about the private lives of senior members of the Conservative Party and their spouses.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/apr/14/damian-mcbride-email-smears-row1 | location=London | newspaper=The Guardian | title=Timeline: Damian McBride email smears row | date=14 April 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/sordid-pics-to-promote-labour-website/story-e6frg6so-1225697029928|title=Sex, lies and sordid photos to promote Labour website|newspaper=[[The Australian]]|date=13 April 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7995634.stm|title=Key people in e-mail smear row|publisher=[[BBC News]]|date=14 April 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/5145640/How-the-Labour-smear-email-story-unfolded.html|title=How the Labour smear email story unfolded|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|date=13 April 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8332806.stm|title=E-mail smears MP 'paid damages'|publisher=[[BBC News]]|date=29 October 2009}}</ref> The website was never launched according to ''[[The Register]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/09/07/dorries_writs/|title=Tory MP to sue over sex smear email|newspaper=[[The Register]]|date=7 September 2009}}</ref> The emails from January 2009, which had been sent from the Downing Street Press Office, were initially leaked to blogger [[Paul Staines]].<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article6108549.ece | location=London | work=The Times | first=Guido | last=Fawkes | title=Why did so few stand up to the spin machine | date=17 April 2009|archivedate=16 July 2011|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716130442/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article6108549.ece|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Draper and McBride initially tried to play down the plans. McBride stated "To call it an orchestrated smear campaign is ridiculous. It was just some ill-judged gossip between friends which was never meant to see the light of day. They appear to be some ideas – laid out in embarrassing detail – for stories which could appear on a Left-wing version of the Guido Fawkes blog called Red Rag. They’re all stories which have been doing the rounds in Westminster for a while, written up in a scurrilous style. But the website has never appeared, so it’s hard to see what it was all about."<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/conservative/5138271/Row-as-Number-10-emails-smear-Tories.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090413173541/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/conservative/5138271/Row-as-Number-10-emails-smear-Tories.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = 13 April 2009 | location=London | work=The Daily Telegraph | first=Christopher | last=Hope | title=Row as Number 10 emails 'smear Tories' | date=10 April 2009}}</ref>
McBride resigned on 11 April 2009 after it was discovered that the site had been registered since November 2008 and the planned launch was only stopped in April 2009.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2009/apr/11/damian-mcbride-forced-to-quit | location=London | work=The Guardian | first=Gaby | last=Hinsliff | title=Damian McBride forced to quit over 'sex smear scandal' | date=11 April 2009}}</ref> Draper resigned as editor of [[LabourList]] on 7 May 2009.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/903854/Labour-insider-Derek-Draper-stands-down/|title=Labour insider Derek Draper stands down|newspaper=[[Brand Republic]]|date=7 May 2009}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.theredrag.co.uk The Red Rag]
[[Category:British political blogs]]