Phew, thank goodness that's all settled.
We can now draw a line under all the phone-hacking unpleasantess.
The News of the World has been shut down. And Andy Coulson has been arrested. We should just be thankful that they caught the one bad apple who caused all the trouble.
Never mind that 200 odd journalists have lost their jobs despite not being involved in the phone hacking more than six years ago.
Never mind that the then editor of the News of the World is still chief executive of News International.
Never mind that plans were already being laid for a seven-day Sun before this scandal broke: clearly the problem is the name on the masthead of the Sunday newspaper, not the company that runs it.
Never mind that phone hacking is rife in journalism.
Just you hush now, look at these pictures of Cheryl Cole's burqini and be quiet while David Cameron's government lets Rupert Murdoch get his claws further into BSkyB.
It all be sorted out by David Cameron's judge-led inquiry.
Never mind how badly served we were by official inquiries into the Iraq war.
Never mind that David Cameron employed Andy Coulson.
Never mind that David Cameron is matey with the chief exec of News International.
Never mind that David Cameron pays frequent homage to Ruper Murdoch - as do nearly all our political leaders.
If you want a definitive account of how much this all stinks - and how cosy it is - I heartily recommend Peter Oborne's excellent and courageous coverage in the Spectator.
Some thoughts to ponder:
- This is a News International problem, not a News of the World one.
- All the other newspaper groups should be subjected to severe scrutiny.
- There should be serious jail time for those who have broken the law.
- We should revisit whether Rupert Murdoch is a "fit and proper person" to control so much of Britain's media.
- Similar questions should be asked about the owners of any other media companies found to have practised phone hacking.
- Hiding behind "deniability" does not make you innocent.
- We don't need further regulation: our civil rights are eroded enough as it is. What we do need is for the PCC to do its job and for the law to be properly applied.
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