The 167-page report by a cross-party select committee is withering about the conduct of the News of the World, with one MP saying its crimes "went to the heart of the British establishment, in which police, military royals and government ministers were hacked on a near industrial scale".
... The culture, media and sport select committee was also damning of the police, saying Scotland Yard should have broadened its original investigation in 2006, and not just focused on Clive Goodman, the NoW's royal reporter.
So the Screws was hacking into phone calls of senior politicians and policemen, yet the police decided not to mount a comprehensive investigation. It does make you wonder why, and what was heard on those calls. Meanwhile:
The committee avoids making accusations against the most politically sensitive figure involved, Andy Coulson, the editor of the News of the World at the time and now the director of communications at Tory HQ.
Uh- huh. Obviously, one doesn;t want to give in to conspiracy theorizing. It’s obvious that the editor of the paper concerned could not be expected to have any knowledge at all about "industrial scale hacking" committed by employees and contractors working under him. A shame really, because I’m sure that if only comrade Andy had known, he’d have done something about it.
As you know Bob, he was too busy trying to exert improper influence on one of his employees' doctor at the time.
Posted by: Alex | February 24, 2010 at 03:16 PM