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

Those Prince Harry Pics

Yes it is not an issue as such in that he is doing something a lot of other people of his age have done and therefore not newsworthy. As Vanessa Feltz said, if he was a dignitary at the Olympics misbehaving in front of others that would have been different, but instead he is third in line to the throne and this was in his spare time. I may not approve of what he did, but it is not news and not in the public interest for the reasons I have given

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