Taking A Breather From The Scandal

Since the Sage last wrote, the phone-hacking saga has got much deeper, more damaging and above all murkier than could possibly have been foreseen when the first shocking allegations arose three weeks ago.

In that post, I said that full justice had not yet been served on the revelations of cosy dealings (to put it mildly) between journalists and police officers. Two weeks and two high-profile resignations later, that position has thankfully changed – culminating in a report by the Home Affairs Select Committee, published on Wednesday, which accused the Met of “a catalogue of failures”.

That report, though, was completely drowned by coverage of the same day’s events in the House of Commons, even though we learnt next to nothing from them – ‘Cameron regrets hiring Coulson’ shock, ‘Miliband bangs on and on about Coulson’ shock, etc.

The report, on the other hand, provides a clear and strong basis for accusing both News International and the police of complicity not only in the illicit practices but also in attempts to cover them up. While it blames the former for hindering the original criminal investigation into phone hacking, it accuses the latter of having “no real will” to tackle this obstructionism.

This parliamentary investigation, in case you’re wondering, did not begin last week but almost a year ago – that is how long this particular aspect of the scandal has been brewing.

And what about the man who once again dominated raucous Wednesday afternoon exchanges in the Commons – the man who, at the time of my last post, was awaiting imminent arrest and questioning not only of his role in the News of the World’s hacking culture but, perhaps more seriously, his repeated denials, including on oath, of any knowledge?

For those outside the political bubble, it might be difficult to understand how the Prime Minister can be accused of a “catastrophic error of judgement” in trusting Andy Coulson’s testimony in a court of law and elsewhere, without the same charge being levelled at every judge or jury or police officer or parliamentary committee member he faced.

It’s also worth remembering that Coulson was not hired in the midst of controversy, but after he had been cleared by the Press Complaints Commission of any wrongdoing in relation to the convictions of Clive Goodman and Glenn Mulcaire – in whose trial Coulson pleaded ignorance to the alleged activity.

However, earlier this year, despite surviving a police interview after fresh allegations by the late News of the World journalist Sean Hoare, Coulson was forced out of No.10 – punished twice for the same offence, said his boss. Doubts though there may now be about the integrity of that briefly-renewed investigation, in the eyes of the law, Coulson was in the clear.

In truth, then, the “warnings” that Ed Miliband and others insist that David Cameron received – and should have heeded – regarding his appointment and continued employment of Coulson were based less on doubts about Coulson’s innocence than on concerns over ‘how it looked’ for Cameron to be so quick to give him a second chance, and to be so close to someone so intrinsically linked to the influential Murdoch empire.

Hardly a resigning matter, though… or whatever it is that Miliband is actually seeking, which isn’t altogether clear. Whatever it is, it isn’t going to happen.

It remains to be seen how this saga will play out in the coming weeks, in the absence of parliamentary activity and thus of meaningful political debate – and as other events claim the limelight, just as those in Norway, north London and Stockport have done so grimly in the past few days.

With any luck, the summer should provide an opportunity for all involved to catch their breath, reflect on the scale and the likely impact of this month’s events, and in doing so regain some degree of perspective. After all, this is a scandal that erupted essentially on behalf of the parents of a murdered schoolgirl.

And of course, it is a scandal that has already claimed the life of a man too afraid of the consequences of telling an inconvenient truth against a Downing Street press secretary.

Sound familiar?

A Watershed Week for British Media?

Tonight’s bizarre revelation that police have informed former News of the World editor Andy Coulson of his impending arrest is the latest twist in this week’s gripping saga surrounding the shocking allegations of routine phone-hacking by journalists working for Britain’s most-read newspaper.

Indeed today has been true to form in delivering not one but two or three significant events.

This morning was dominated by reports that not only had journalists targeted the phones of Milly Dowler, the parents of Holly and Jessica, and families of victims of the London bombings (the anniversary of which, by a cruel twist of fate, is today), but that the sombre privacy of relatives of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan may have also been violated.

This afternoon came the shock announcement by none other than James Murdoch (chairman of News International) that the 168-year-old – and now heavily smeared – title will disappear from news stands after this weekend. It has since become apparent that the title is likely merely to be replaced by a Sunday version of the sister paper, the Sun.

Staff at both papers are already showing their anger, not least because they feel they are being punished for the wrongdoing of their predecessors; but, alas, the Murdoch machine rumbles inexorably on… perhaps to full ownership of BSkyB, but that’s an argument for another day.

And of course, it’s not just been about the media. Yesterday the Metropolitan Police came under intense scrutiny when the penny dropped that the evidence entering the public domain this week has been in the possession of detectives for years.

And full justice still does not seem to have been done to the culture of corruption between police officers seeking a quick buck and journalists desperate for a scoop. Thank goodness the IPCC has belatedly taken the lead on investigating this practice – and who knew about it.

This week’s events have stunned politicians, journalists, bloggers and others, but it’s impossible to escape the sense that we could and should have seen some of this coming.

In March 2003 (while everyone was pre-occupied with the prospect of war in Iraq), Rebekah Wade – as editor of the News of the World – admitted to a committee of MPs that her paper had at times paid police officers for information; Andy Coulson, then her deputy, was sat beside her.

Now, one is contemplating a career in tatters and facing imminent police custody – to the acute embarrassment of another former boss, the Prime Minister – while the other (now Mrs Brooks) has risen to Chief Executive of News International, apparently under the impregnable wing of the Murdochs.

Meanwhile, the Sage has warned on more than one occasion that tabloid rags have sacrificed their morals in the relentless drive for the stories that will sell copies and keep them afloat.

The phone-hacking story itself has been around for five years, and the conviction of two “rogue reporters” (as they were described by bosses at the time) was never going to bring an end to the affair. Indeed, it is one of those two criminals – Glenn Mulcaire – who is at the heart of the most serious of this week’s revelations.

Other dubious methods, such as secret recordings, have depressingly become part and parcel of investigative journalism – Vince Cable, Tommy Sheridan, Max Mosley, David Beckham and even John Higgins have all been victims of News of the World stings in recent years, and all have subsequently won moral if not legal victories… but of course, the mud sticks.

It seems obvious that such tactics have not been confined solely to the News of the World, which is why this story is likely to keep regenerating for many months and years to come as more shady journalistic activities come to light.

There is also the prospect of a lengthy and complex public inquiry, the details of which the House of Commons wrangled over for three hours yesterday, seemingly without consensus – putting significant pressure on David Cameron to satisfy calls both for a swift and a sturdy resolution to the saga.

And of course we wait to see if, how and when the Met Police fulfils its particularly pressing obligations.

The hope is that, one way or another, this week proves to be a watershed in the behaviour and relationships of those in the British press. One thing is for sure – the backlash is very much back on.