[5] Although he subsequently refused to confirm the links, further media coverage continued to name Staines as Fawkes until the airing of a BBC Radio 4 documentary[6] about him on 10 February 2007, which gave a detailed history and background, and prompted his blog post "So Much for Anonymity".

[9] In April 2006, Staines was one of numerous bloggers subject to an injunction[10] from News International for publishing a picture of the undercover journalist Mazher Mahmood.

It also named the woman in question, saying that such rumours had long been shared among Westminster journalists, but that the blog was being less hypocritical and breaking the clique by refusing to cover up such stories.

[25] In November 2024, after celebrating the twentieth anniversary of Guido Fawkes, Staines announced he would be standing down as editor, with Ross Kempsall being confirmed as taking over the role.

[27] The Commission threatened him with contempt of court proceedings if he did not release any documents, obtained from whistleblowers, relating to political activities by the Smith Institute.

[30][31][32] Over the weekend of 11–12 April 2009, Staines exposed in his blog that a series of e-mails had been prepared by Damian McBride, a political adviser working at 10 Downing Street, smearing a number of Conservative MPs which had been sent to Derek Draper for consideration for publication on the Red Rag blogsite.

[35] His success in the McBride affair has occasioned serious criticism from him of the UK lobby correspondent system, which he believes has succumbed to the ethos of political spin.

[36] In late November 2011 Staines posted on his Guido Fawkes blog the Leveson Inquiry pre-submission of journalist and former Labour Party press secretary Alastair Campbell.

All pre-submissions are given under strict and full confidentiality, and all core participants – including victims, the Metropolitan Police and the Crown Prosecution Service – are also signatories.

[13] Staines responded by stating that he is more vulnerable to libel suits than the print media are; as an individual, he does not have a large company backing him, although he says the fact that his blog is published through a Nevis-registered firm offers some protection,[41] as plaintiffs are required to deposit US$25,000 in court before commencing any action in Nevis.

[45][46] Staines was criticised by Iain Dale and Michael White in September 2010 for publishing rumours about William Hague, alleging that he shared a hotel room with his newly appointed special advisor.

[47][48] Later in February 2012, at the Leveson Inquiry, Staines said he had been paid £20,000 by the News of the World for a picture of Hague's special adviser, Christopher Myers, in a gay bar.