I didn’t say it first – that honour goes to George Eaton of The New Statesman – but it would seem to be a good argument. If Andy Coulson knew that his hacks were breaking in to mobile phones then he is too wicked to be David Cameron’s press officer and if he didn’t know, then he is too stupid. He should be sacked immediately.
The New York Times have published a wonderful piece this week that not only strongly suggests Coulson is wicked rather than stupid but that also raises very serious questions over the conduct of the metropolitan police in the matter. It would seem they may have put their good relationship with the News of the World ahead of their responsibility to the truth and to justice. A judicial review has been sought and it will be concerning if it doesn’t happen; a good democracy is built on the trust of the judiciary and of the press to keep our politicians on the straight and narrow. That trust is already under great strain.
The vast majority of news outlets are completely ignoring this story; only the Guardian and the Independent have covered it. While the deafening silence from the news outlets over which News Corp holds it’s iron fist is understandable, that the BBC has so far failed to report it is less forgiveable. Are they cowards or just slow? Only time will tell.
Meanwhile, the nation has its knickers in a twist because, whilst on the road campaigning and to save the tax payer money, William Hague shared a twin hotel room with one of his aides. So pitifully sex obsessed and repressed have we apparently become as a nation that two men sharing a hotel room with two separate beds in it is sufficient to lead to accusations of the collapse of William Hague’s marriage and a homosexual relationship. The furore has forced the poor aide to resign from a job he was apparently very good at out of despair at the treatment of him and his family by the press and the Hagues to publicly admit to a very private and painful struggle of their own that is none of our business and which they should not have had to reveal.
Do we really now believe that two heterosexual men cannot innocently share a hotel room?!
Come on people! Priorities!
