Were the ordinary voters in the election broadcast that moved Ken Livingstone to tears actually actors? That was the claim in yesterday’s Guardian diary, which Labour Uncut has revisited today.
The Guardian reported:
The Labour party confessed yesterday that the Londoners are all actors – but actors who support Ken. Of the crying, it said: “It was very genuine. It really was.”
We know that in at least one case – Rabbi Joseph Stauber – this cannot be true. Stauber, who appears several times in the video, is a former Labour councillor for Stamford Hill.
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But what of the others? Ken’s team have taken to Twitter to deny the claims.
Following factual inaccurate reports this morning we would like to state categorically nobody in our party election broadcast is an actor.
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— Ken Digital Team (@KenDigitalTeam) April 13, 2012
A member of the team told the New Statesman:
The company that did the PEB [party election broadcast] street cast them … Street cast means they went up to them on the street and asked who they supported.
For the sake of Ken’s credibility, it’s important that they avoid any doubt.