Eye of the storm
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David Cameron's Director of Communications Andy Coulson finds himself in the thick of it today following those allegations of alleged phone hacking by News of the World journliasts. He resigned as Editor of the paper in January 2007 after the paper's royal editor, Clive Goodman was jailed for hacking into the mobile phones of Buckingham Palace staff.
Conservative leader David Cameron has insisted Andy Coulson's job as his communications director is safe. Senior Labour and Lib Dems figures have said he should be fired after revelations about phone messages being intercepted by the News of the World.
Mr Cameron sought to make a distinction between what Mr Coulson may have done in the past and what he does now for the Conservative Party.
" As director of communications he does an excellent job for the Conservatives, in a proper, upright way at all times "
Mr Coulson who has yet to comment on whether he knew about phone hacking at the paper, issued a statement on Wednesday saying "this story relates to an alleged payment made after I left the News of the World two and a half years ago. I have no knowledge whatsoever of any settlement with Gordon Taylor".
The Conservatives argue that calls by senior Labour figures such as Charles Clarke and John Prescott for Mr Coulson to be sacked were politically-motivated attempts to destabilise Mr Cameron.
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Crickey, having just read the PM Newsletter, there is an awful lot of alleged allegations flying about today!
Is it open season on them.....maybe?
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Orwellian use of : In the Public Interest
In view of todays news regarding phone tapping I resubmit comments I lost to a dead blog re MPs expenses recently. It still seems relevant in part:
A Fresh Commission for The Daily Telegraph?____Whenever Fleet St. advises us that they are embarking on some expose in our interests, anyone past the age of blissful naivete will likely feel a compulsion, born of previous experience, to do a quick double-take.__For example, when the News of the World decided to publish the names and addresses of offenders in the dark and dreadful world of child abuse, they justified their actions in the name of Public Interest. Such a motive wore pretty thin in the light of the grave admonitions issuing from the Police. They clearly stated that such volatile revelations would severely jeopardise the safety of children by sending those aberrants known to police to ground. Thus, as they obviously now would be acting against childrens interests by proceeding, one can only interpret their motive as a cynical means of increasing circulation.__I have always been baffled that after whipping up hysteria in the otherwise surely good and peaceful folk of Southampton to almost riot proportions, and, since, presumably the Police did not proffer the information, illicitly hacking into some computer to obtain it, there was no censure whatsoever from Govt. of this endangering commercial venture._If a private citizen, not seeking profits but passionate about GM crops or animal rights or nuclear weapons were to act similarly to uncover locations it seems unlikely he, or she, if discovered, would escape recrimination. That didnt seem to be the case with The Kid and The Pentagon for example as I recall, or many other such individual transgressions.__However, in the current matter of MPs expenses, and witnessing _the Govts reticence, reinforced by redaction, to deal with the issue, the D T could lay a better claim to this Public Interest criteria. Nevertheless, I still do my double-take and wonder if it does not seem too, too convenient that this righteous eye should be cast on our MPs just when we are reeling from the fiscal disasters piloted by our Captains of Commerce.__Whilst Allen Stanford is being indicted, and public prosecutors across the U.S. pursue more Madoffs, our media saturates the public consciousness with MPs expenses. Though these are indeed odious and require attention they are very , very small change compared to the enormous personal and irresponsible greed of our financial leaders._I used to want to vomit when I heard them justify their excessive rewards on the grounds that if you want the best people you must pay them excessively. Now, even with the incontrovertible evidence of where this has led us, I hear people still positing this notion and want to slit my throat or, perhaps, not to get too worked up about it, theirs.__Accordingly, a dash of conspiracy theory has invaded my thoughts. Andy Hamilton would best describe this, but I picture a satanic room somewhere in Murdochs Mordor, where a horned Rupert addresses an assembly of FCS* demons. He warns them that the Plebs are getting uncomfortably close to discovering the full scale of the collective perfidies they have perpetrated on us all. He goes on to assert that a distraction is needed, perhaps in the form of an expose of MPs expenses. He points out that the unholy alliance forged by Mrs.T. between business and politics might be weakened, but sacrificing the MPs might be enough of a delay to kill the impetus for scrutiny of his assembled cohorts. It could then be business or recklessness as usual. A vote is taken, his resolution, as always, passed, and the job is assigned to the DT on the basis that the Sun, Sky or News of the World would be so close to home as to risk outFOXing himself.__So, if the DT is so committed to the Public Interest I offer them a new vastly superior commission. Why not use their undoubted skills of investigation and disclosure to publish daily lists of specific FCSs*, revealing their post-Thatcher reward packages, and linking the decisions they took to an informed estimate of how much they eventually dearly cost us.__By so doing we could then have many cheques for returned ill-gotten millions, instead of the paltry few thousand pounds here and there from MPs, though we could continue to retrieve theirs as well. We could even prosecute some of the more fraudulent as the US is doing and seize their entire assets to help reduce the huge debt they have devolved upon us.__If you are careful not to look directly into Rupert,s mesmeric eyes Dear DT, then you could do this for us please. Even though the MPs may be complicit, let us not obscure the real and present evil of the FCS with this Westminster trivia. Strike a blow for all those lifelong hard-working people who have lost their savings and their retirement dreams, and for all those who have been consigned to a future of financial anxiety and uncertainty via the relentless greed of these people.*In case anyone has any difficulty in penetrating the acronym FCS, it denotes Fat Cat Scumbag. I use this nomenclature not in the manner of insult or abuse, though some may find its connotations a useful corollary, but merely as an adherence to a related basic physical principle of our World. When you bring together elements that have an inescapable propensity to ferment, viz Politics, Global Business and Finance in this case, the scum will generally float to the top. Ever since the great architect of ordinary honest peoples current miseries, Mrs. T; prevented us from skimming off or regulating this scum, it has been able to rise, remain on top and taint to unpalatability the brew that is our lives.
P.S. All paragraphing and punctuation seem lost in this transfer from "Suggest a Story". More readable version there.
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Cameron says he is keen to give people a second chance which appears to imply that Coulson has done something wrong in the first place? However Cameron only has one chance to become the next PM and should remember that!
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r4 2, You mean your post was originally longer? Crikey!!
Just because Coulson might have chopped up several bodies in the past doesn't mean he has done it lately. Give the guy a chance. 400,000 pounds worth, from what I heard.
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C'mon folks,Didn't Mr Cameron say that he wanted to attract the right kind of people into politics...he's made a start then.
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This reminds me of Alistair Campbell who worked for Captain Bob Maxwell- as unsavoury a boss as you could find. They all knew what Maxwell was like but it didn't bother Alistair who of course went on to be a legend in his own lunchtime at number 10.Nobody seemed to care what he had done as 'journalist' and part time porn writer.
This story smacks of the desperation of Labour to get their own back after the truly vicious McBride was outed as close buddy of Brown
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fJd 5, Has Damien McBride found a new job yet?
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DMNC (7)
Perhaps he ought to have a word with Cameron?
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fJd 8, They could hack into each others phones?
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When we had all those reports of cellphone conversations involving Princess Diana and alleged lovers journalists blamed dirty tricks by MI5 or the police protecting her. Now we know that they routinely do this anyhow. Can we assume that in every other case where they have blamed others it could be journalists and private detectives.
If Cameron chose this guy after his staff had been caught doing this doesn't this raise questions about who he chooses for his staff, and the media for not mentioning it at the time.
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Carolyn - like the BBC - I believe in listening and didn't believe a word. Of The Guardian's story this morning. I believe that celebrities would have sussed fairly quickly if such or such a story made the front pages. The gentleman who used to work with Sir Paul McCartney sounded grounded enough to accept without to much cynicism.
Why? Thousands of names - receipts passing allegedly through newspaper's cashiers offices with the words "for phone tapping of XYZ mobile phone?" and the Police and the Courts suggested to have covered it up? lol
And as I always say - the Media knows more of what is going on than us poor "grunts".
I just listened to AC John Yates too and thought - ah I see. An ability to eavesdrop on thousands of personnages - an ability. But how does one prove same?
So I will listen a few more days - but can almost guarantee a certain newspaper will back track somewhat on its "shock and awe"!
Nick Davies from the Guardian justifying himself. Put up the evidence or shut up please, Sir!
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I'd like to thank Mr Cameron! Now I can do anything I like as, by the time the police call, it will always be "in the past". I am sure the government will be happy too; "Oh, that was last week. We're doing something else today".
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
DIW 1, I've never seen an alleged flying alligator.
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I learned that I was probably a target in a similar case a few years ago.
A private investigator in the Midlands was hired by a businessman to hack into the computers of several statutory agencies and tap the phones of certain individual troublemakers of which I was certainly one.
The PI was jailed, and in the course of the case his clients were identified and some were charged, including our businessman who served 6 months as a result. Another senior director in his company, with whom I'd always got on quite well, was also charged but was acquitted.
My question is: if THAT case was pursued, why not THIS new one? The only material difference I can see is that the PI's client is now a big mucky-muck in a major political party. Surely it can't be right to leave a member of the public with that impression?
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