Dick, nowhere have I claimed to be an expert on Bert. I have my own examples of his peccadillos and I have read of many more. I have also read most of his published works and his biography. From this I have learnt not to trust any of his statements without corroboration from elsewhere. I write extensively on the histories of individual folk songs and I have a mountain of reliable resources to work with. I have no need to use Bert's works in this respect. My own expertise when it comes to 'fakesong' lies with the earlier fakers not those of the twentieth century. I hope that answers some of your questions.

If you are desperate for examples of Bert's twisting the facts I can give you a few from my own researches, but they are already on Mudcat in other threads.