The phone-hacking scandal no-one wants to talk about
If there was ever the evidence needed that much of our press operate in a world where different rules apply, and how other national institutions cooperate in that process, then the phone-hacking scandal is a brilliant example.
Let’s go over some facts again here.
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Time to spit out those strawberries?
If you watched Ken Loach’s recent film It’s A Free World then this will sound eerily familiar. Busloads of Eastern European migrants lured into England with promises of a fast buck, savings and accomodation, only to discover slave labour.
Today’s Independent investigation focuses on the biggest fruit growers and suppliers to Tesco and Sainsbury’s, a company called S&A that, already back in 2005, grabbed a few headlines (though not enough) over ridiculous working conditions.
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Daily Mail wants Nigerian criminals to remain in Britain
In a surprising U-turn, The Daily Mail said yesterday that instead of being sent back where they came from, Nigerian criminals should remain in Britain to take your job and rob your house.
Confusion erupted as the newspaper more commonly associated with its pro- ‘put-them-all-on-the-first-banana-boat-back-to-Africa’ stance on immigration also decided it would rather spend more taxpayers’ money keeping brown nogoodniks here than save cash by helping to build a dedicated facility in some far-off African land where they could be pleasantly forgotten about.
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Right-whingers and Newsnight
Tim Montgomerie on Conservative Home is very angry about Newsnight having four “lefties” and no “righties” on its new ‘Politics Pen’ show.
These “lefties” are: Deborah Mattison, Gordon Brown’s opinion pollster. Matthew Taylor, Tony Blair’s former adviser on political strategy Greg Dyke, who voted Liberal Democrat in 2005, warned that if Labour were elected then ‘democracy was under threat’, and is currently an adviser to the Conservative Party on the UK’s creative sector
Digby Jones, the former Director General of the CBI, who was approached by the Conservative Party about being their candidate for Mayor of London, who described trade unions as ‘backward looking and not on today’s agenda’ and Labour as ‘always in thrall to the unions’, and who wouldn’t join the Labour Party even when Gordon Brown appointed him as a minister
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Fairer access to policing at protests promised
Protestors are to be given the chance to ‘opt in’ to kettling at demonstrations, after an ACPO report on policing at the G20 demonstrations recommended forewarning that the controversial containment tactic would be employed.
Senior police strategists are anticipating a positive response to the scheme, whereby demonstrators will be given the chance to stand in a confined space for several hours without access to food, water or toilet facilities, while Territorial Support Group officers hit them in the face with batons – or if they’re lucky, shields.
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NotW hacking: how the story is developing
Commons launches investigation
Press watchdog reopens investigations
How are mobile phones hacked?
How news sites are treating the phone tapping story
Huhne calls for Cameron to sack Andy Coulson
In pictures: Celebrties hacked by News of the World
John Prescott: My letter to Cameron
Andrew Neil: Nobody comes out well of this…
Sunder Katwala: How Les Hinton lied to the Commons
Key questions that Andy Coulson needs to answer
Coulsongate: a huge indictment of our system
It’s amusing to watch Tories try and dismiss this massive bombshell so easily. According to the BBC, a spokeswoman for David Cameron said he was “very relaxed” about the story. “The ramping up of this story is ridiculous – this is about a payment made well after Andy (Coulson) left the News of the World.”
But the focus on what payments were made and when is besides the point. Here’s the crux of the matter: it is alleged that while Andy Coulson was deputy editor and editor at the News of the World thousands of people were being illegally spied on and their data tapped into by a big network of journalists at News International.
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Coulson and Cameron: blogger reaction
Plus what are the chances of Conservative bloggers covering this this evening! They have sometimes accused Labour bloggers of a “Move along now…” attitude, its amazing how silent they are the moment a story against the Conservatives breaks out!
Keeping Coulson may prove too difficult, But the attempt to do suggests that the only ethic that matters is one of convenience – and that different rules apply to the inner circle.
David Cameron’s McBride moment is here, but Tories remain silent
The Conservatives milked the Damian McBride affair for all its worth – turning up on television almost everyday in faux-outrage at how someone could be so nasty in politics. Every day a succession of outraged right-wing bloggers and backbench politicians said they expected better standards from Parliament.
If that is the case, what will they now say about the allegations levelled at Andy Coulson – David Cameron’s director of communications.
The Media Guardian reports:
The paperwork from the Information Commission revealed the names of 31 journalists working for the News of the World and the Sun, together with the precise details of government agencies, banks, phone companies and others who were conned into handing over confidential information on politicians, actors, sportsmen and women, musicians and television presenters, all of whom are named in the paperwork. This is an offence under the Data Protection Act unless it is justified by public interest. Senior editors are among the journalists who are implicated.
A certain Andy Coulson was first deputy editor and later editor of the News of the World while all this was going on.
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Terrorist 5-a-side…
With levity making a welcome return it LibCon courtesy of Jamie’s sparkling pisstake of Mad Mel and Laurie’s Harry Potter post I think its well worth directing your attention to Charlie Brooker’s new comedy quiz show, ‘You Have Been Watching‘, the first episode of which aired last night on Channel 4 (and can be viewed by anyone who missed it on 4OD).
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» Incidents like this shame us all
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