It is not going away. Every week there is the drip drip drip of further revelations. A leader article in the Observer yesterday summarised the key elements concisely.
“A powerful news organisation pays cash to avert scrutiny of dubious practices. Those practices are inadequately investigated by a police force that is thought to collaborate with the same news organisation. MPs say their inquiries are tempered by fear. The man who presided over the newspaper at the centre of the allegations is now the prime minister's chief media aide.”
Put like that it is clearly not going to go away. The crucial issue is the collusion of the Met in what looks like a cover up. The damage limitation plan: send two stooges to jail - buy their silence and promote the lone maverick version. Thousands of pages of notes are conveniently ignored by the Met. The then editor (Coulson) denies all knowledge yet resigns - and walks into a plum role with Cameron. Buy off the three who want to take the matter further (at nearly £1 million each). Accuse any doubters of malice or envy and using the phrase of the century - move on! Job done.
But not quite Lord Copper. The fact that the man in charge of the investigation - Andy Hayman - retired from the Met and immediately became a columnist for News International stank to high heaven. They didn’t even wait for a few months, such is the arrogance of the execs involved.
The Met kept refusing requests for information from the many celebs who want to find out what happened to their phones. The judiciary (thankfully) have taken a much stronger line and ordered the release of document after document. And each one shows what the police ignored, willfully or woefully.
The list of those wanting their day in court grows weekly. While some want a pay-off, others seem more determined to get News International Executives into court. In the witness box - on oath. Squirm, wriggle and hug moments galore!
Rupert Murdoch knows all this. He wants to gain control of BskyB and this matter is not helping. There could be several execs taking a walk “for the good of the company.” Damage limitation - version 2.
And as for the Met? Several MPs are not happy. They are not happy at all and there is talk of an independent investigation from another force and/or a judicial review.
Anyone still in doubt why this matters? Imagine how the Murdoch group would have handled a similar story if it had been the BBC at fault. Or a different political party.
Exactly.
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