''Not Private Eye'' was a one-off parody of the British satirical magazine ''

Private Eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satire, satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely r ...

''.Magforu

/ref>

Overview

The spoof of ''Private Eye'' was published in December 1986 by

Robert Maxwell Ian Robert Maxwell (born Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch; 10 June 1923 – 5 November 1991) was a Czechoslovak-born British media proprietor, member of parliament (MP), suspected spy, and fraudster. Early in his life, Maxwell escaped from N ...

, to celebrate his £55,000

libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...

victory over ''Private Eye'' caused by the magazine's accusation of attempted

cash for peerages The Cash-for-Honours scandal (also known as Cash for Peerages, Loans for Lordships, Loans for Honours or Loans for Peerages) was a political scandal in the United Kingdom in 2006 and 2007 concerning the connection between political donations an ...

. It was printed using the facilities of the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...

'', of which Maxwell was the owner. ''Private Eye'', meanwhile, was trying to sell a Christmas edition (at £1 rather than the then-usual 45p) in order to cover the costs of the libel case, estimated at £255,000.

W H Smith WHSmith (also written WH Smith, and known colloquially as Smith's and formerly as W. H. Smith & Son) is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, England, which operates a chain of high street, railway station, airport, port, hospital and m ...

was refusing to stock it.Magforu

/ref> During this time

Peter Cook Peter Edward Cook (17 November 1937 – 9 January 1995) was an English actor, comedian, satirist, playwright and screenwriter. He was the leading figure of the British satire boom of the 1960s, and he was associated with the anti-establishme ...

led a "raid" on the ''Mirror'' offices which, according to

Ian Hislop Ian David Hislop (born 13 July 1960) is a British journalist, satirist, writer, broadcaster, and editor of the magazine ''Private Eye''. He has appeared on numerous radio and television programmes and has been a team captain on the BBC quiz show ...

, he began by sending a crate of

whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden c ...

to the people working on ''Not Private Eye'', guessing that it was a task they would prefer not to be doing. The group then successfully entered the Mirror offices, removed the proof copy of ''Not Private Eye'', drank champagne in Maxwell's office and were eventually removed by security after they phoned up Maxwell in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. ''Parkinson'' interview of Ian Hislop, 25 March 200

/ref>Private Eye: The First 50 Years, Adam Macqueen

Content

The spoof edition largely copied the style of ''Private Eye'' but attacked its editorial team, including a cover which portrayed the editor

Richard Ingrams Richard Reid Ingrams (born 19 August 1937 in Chelsea, London, Chelsea, London) is an English journalist, a co-founder and second editor of the British satire, satirical magazine ''Private Eye (magazine), Private Eye'', and founding editor of ' ...

in a Nazi uniform talking to

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

. The speech bubble said "And if anyone objects, we say we were only doing it for a laugh". Another example of such anti-''Private Eye'' humour was included in the cartoon strips, one of which, entitled "Carlisle St, an everyday tale of libelling folk", featured caricatures of the ''Private Eye'' team making attacks against others as a means of making money. The cover of ''Not Private Eye'' also featured an altered version of ''Private Eye'' mascot Gnitty, who was shown to be facing the wrong way (compared to his usual pose on the ''Private Eye'' cover) and was smiling.Magforu

/ref>

References

{{Private Eye 1986 establishments in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 1986 Parodies of magazines Private Eye Satirical magazines published in the United Kingdom