We Cameron Must Not Win Commons Vote Tomorrow!

Okay, you raise a fair point on Press Freedom, then you must work to reassure not just Hacked Off and various celebrities involved, you must reassure the families of/and ordinary victims of Press intrusion

• What reassurances will you give that Cameron's alternative has more teeth than the Press Complaints Commission did?

• What reassurances will you give that taboids will suddenly be well behaved? 

• How do you account for the fact that the tabloid press has more power than most politicians? Who elected them?

• What will you do to help promote a society where people go for journalism for news and not tittle tattle and prurient gossip and where we have investigative journalism like Woodward and Bernsteen and not have people prominent in papers like Dacre, Mackenzie, and Littlejohn?

• How will ordinary citizens, in practice , be defended against press intrusion, especially given the way some in the police have behaved during the phone hacking scandal. What guarantees can you give, to the Dowlers and others like them!

If you can answer all these questions and others that may follw, then fine! But this is a matter of trust and for too long we have seen hacks being constantly allowed into the last chance saloon and failing to turn up to AA meetings! For the good of our society this must cease!
Please lobby your MP to vote against the government on Monday!

Why We Must Stick To Leveson's Proposals!

What disheartens me slightly about the governments actions is that it is as if things will be back to square one. Some newspapers (and I refer to The Gardian and The Independent) say they do not want to be in the same dock as some of the tabloids and I agree, given the evidence, some argue also that would you let victims of muggings decide the law on muggers etc.. again fair point, but these tabloids and similar institutions have the advantage, unlike muggers, of being very, very, powerful organisations on a national scale that wilfully abuse their power and are not democratically answerable. What is needed is for that abuse to be stopped and for us to know and see the changes in that direction!

Is Leveson Loading a Gun on the Press

My reaction on reading this is "Good!" but obviously there is a caveat. Mainly that it is discerning and attacks only certain sections of the Press and bears in mind the good work that investigative journalism of the more mature variety does (take MP's expenses for example). We must always have a questioning media and a free press, but we must not have a feral media that wallows in spiv culture and that must always be stamped on when necessary

Lord Prescott on Those Prince Harry Pics

Totally agree. Mention the story, but no need for the pics as far as I am concerned

Is Leveson Being Threatened?

What I find chilling about the recent criticisms actually involves what Michael Gove said, not that I agree with him, which I don't. What is going on here is an investigation into the conduct of the press, and whilst freedom of the press is essential, the freedoms of the individual is also important and for too long we have seen less genuine investigative journalism of the Woodward and Bernstein variety on our front pages than there are investigations into the private lives of football stars, models, actors, etc.. I think we are in for some storms ahead and those of us who have concerns over abuses in the media should speak out more loudly and practice what we preach!

Cameron at Leveson

A no of people comment on the "We're all in this together!" text, but what surprises me is the no of times David Cameron seems to have forgotten vital meetings and discussions. Some I can understand, but others not and what this says overall about the PM is disturbing and I fear he may well have put himself into a corner!

Osborne at Leveson

He gave a good defence in part, but I do wonder about the fastness and losness of the language used. Some important questions to ask Osborne include:

1) Did he actually say of Coulson, "He stiched me up like a kipper, let's hire him!"

2) Does he still regard Andy Coulson as a friend?

3) Other than News International, did meetings with any one media group take up to a third of his meeting with media officials in general, and if not why not?

4) How does he clarify what constitutes a meeting with News International executives and what doesn't and with those non meetings, is anything concerning media ownership and government policy casually discussed and to what level?


Am sure there are more, but I have found that I still find Osborne's general political attitude a disgrace and that we need less people like him in British politics if what I have heard of today's reports (I only saw a little of it live) is true?

Blair at Leveson

Whilst this was a master class in political savvy and presentation it was not what was said as much as what was said! For example Blair said no deals were made or implied with Rupert Murdoch, there didn't need to be any. Murdoch made his views perfectly known over the years, not least in Sun editorials. Blair knew what Murdoch wanted, in some respects it echoed his politics and he knew what may be expected. Nothing needed to be implied even Bullying journalists by No 10 spin doctors! Well there is enough evidence to say it happened, but again Blair did not need to know, but I suspect there was a sense of disingenuousness here, as with Blair's statements on Murdoch Where Blair is spot on is where he attacks the Daily Mail. The problem there, as with a no of tabloids, and we know which ones, is that when they go for someone they go full them with full venom to the point where if they claim morality the word "Pharisee" springs to mind! So what we have here is seeing a situation where no deals are made with Murdoch because his views are known already and Murdoch knew his political views would be considered. Any criticism from other stables would be silenced through the Machiavellian machinations of spin doctors, and yet not all criticism was valid. Some of the media in general, whether in the Murdoch stable or not, are feral, viciously arrogant, and out of control. Blair is right on one count. The culture of certain aspects of the media need to change

Cable at Leveson

I think he did well this morning and while Vince Cable should not have given his views in private, let alone public conversations (and to be fair he was under stress at the time), he seems to have been scrupulosly fair over an issue which it is very hard for anyone in public life to be impartial about. Certainly he seems from what we have seen so far to be fairer than Hunt on the matter and for that he should be applauded and from the evidence he seems more sinned against than having sinned

Downing Street Aide attempting to Intimidate a BBC Journalist

Was rather shocked by this but imagine it goes on more than we think, and hat tip to Guido Fawkes for copying it and putting it on his site.
This not only shows the pressure the PM is under, but that they are running scared and aware of the potential damage. The fact a Downing Street Tory hack dashed out of Downing Street and was trying to intimidate a BBC Journalist here shows they are trying to get a grip on the situation, albeit by going the wrong way about it!
Cameron should sack Hunt, but the fact he hasn't and had a cosy friendship with Rebekah Brooks and is getting nasty over this makes you wonder how much he has to hide!

Peter Mandelson at Leveson Inquiry

Nothing that hasn't been covered already, but it does remind us that a) The relationships between senior politicians and newspaper proprietors was unhealthy, 2) That some of the press behaved like the secret police in a dictatorship,  and 3) That Tessa Jowell was in a job where she was possibly not expected to do much and certainly was undermined at various points.
Tom Watson's points at Leveson were certainly fascinating. Murdoch was likely to have been briefed, although that is an allegation, that News International behaved like a floating voter with menace, and that while there was no hard evidence there was a "craven understanding" between senior politicians and NI execs (something which Mandelson touched on yesterday). He then added that NI were paying for a great deal of Mulcare's legal fees and that he has yet to meet a politician who wants to regulate the press.
None of this is new as such, but it does re-enforce the need for a regulated system and that for too long some in the media have behaved like the stasi with swaggering arrogance whilst pretending to be Woodward and Bernstein. It needs to stop and soon!

Jack Straw at Leveson Inquiry

I think Jack Straw has a very valid point here. Any discussion regarding media influence would not have been via official channels. They would have been informal and coated in certain language so if such an inquiry (such as Leveson) were to take place, they would be prepared!
We need to do more, much more, to see a change in our media, than the inquiry we are seeing

Tuesday Round-Up

James Murdoch giving evidence to the Leveson Inquiry. Can be found here

Plus Ten Questions for Rupert Murdoch Next Week from James Macintyre