'Katharine Witty', Sky News Online

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

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Meeting Ms Witty - Al Fayed's Mouthpiece, By James Silver

Katharine Witty has arguably the most daunting job in public relations - tougher even, perhaps, than being spin doctor to Gordon Brown.

For the past year, she has been what the tabloids describe as the "mouthpiece" for limelight-loving Harrods chairman Mohamed al Fayed.

Ms Witty, a former Sky News royal correspondent, shot to prominence during the inquest into the deaths of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed, which ended last month with the jury finding that the pair were unlawfully killed due to the gross negligence of their driver Henri Paul and the paparazzi.

Given the lurid nature of the claims repeatedly made by her boss, her job is one which demands both a thick skin and a strong stomach.

During the proceedings, al Fayed alleged that Diana and Dodi were murdered by MI6 on the orders of Prince Philip to clear the way for Prince Charles to marry his "crocodile" bride, Camilla Parker Bowles.

Few who followed the inquest will forget how the Harrods boss branded Prince Philip "a Nazi" and, outside the High Court, yelled at an unsuspecting BBC radio journalist: "You work for MI6, you idiot!"

Yet somehow - despite a cacophony of raucous headlines - Witty, 33, calmly made her employer's case, framing his more exotic claims in rather less excitable language.

But did she really believe al Fayed's allegations, which have been both widely mocked and discredited?

"Others have said my job is regarded as one of the toughest in public relations," she says in an exclusive interview with Sky News Online.

"But you can't do this job unless you enjoy working for and believe in the person you're doing it for.

"I'm not standing up and simply parroting something [I've been told to say] or using some kind of formula.

"You have to be convinced by - and believe in - what you say otherwise you will come across badly and you won't be representing your client properly."

Some of the media coverage of the inquest, claims Ms. Witty, was "unbalanced".

She says: "Details were missed and huge swathes of cross-examination ignored. I was struggling to get journalists to see the subtler points.

"On occasions, I was forced either to address it with the journalist concerned or with their employer."

She quickly adds: "I tried not to interfere but I did find myself having to react when things were very grossly one-sided.

"Frankly if I made a fuss of everything that wasn't fairly reported I'd never have left my desk. I tried to only fight the big battles."

One of those big battles was undoubtedly the media portrayal of al Fayed himself.

"Mr al Fayed is a strong personality and people were looking forward to his appearance in court with relish," she says, choosing her words carefully.

"And he didn't disappoint. People have very strong views about him.

"Most of all, I think I wanted to make to sure that it was remembered that he is a grieving father and he is entitled to his beliefs as much as any grieving father.

"It was a shame that he was depicted [in the media] as naming and shaming lots of high profile people involved in a conspiracy, which was the tone of the coverage following his appearance.

"But in fact he didn't have a list in front of him. Names were put to him by Ian Burnett [QC, for the coroner] and Mohamed said that those people in a position of power would have known what was going on.

"So that's the context in which he named people like Tony Blair - but inevitably it came across as finger-pointing."

In the immediate aftermath of the verdict, an unruffled and composed Ms Witty appeared on Newsnight, holding her nerve while being grilled by Jeremy Paxman.

"There weren't any questions which I hadn't anticipated," she says of the interview, "which is the advantage of having slogged it out as a journo."

Can she ever work as journalist again in the future, having worked for as controversial figure as al Fayed?

"I don't know," she muses. "I don't suppose I can be impartial again as I will always be associated in some way with Mohamed al Fayed. But that doesn't mean I can't write for the comment pages of a newspaper or comment on TV."

Recent press speculation placed her salary at £300,000.

When this is mentioned, Witty, who is "on call" 24/7, cuts across quickly.

"I'm certainly going to deny it's as much as that. But I'm afraid I'm not going to say what it actually is either."

Whatever the precise figure, given her boss's penchant for grandiose airport thriller-style conspiracy theories, few would deny that she earns every penny.

:: James Silver is online at jamessilver.net

Posted by James Silver - On Tuesday, May 27, 2008

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