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Nick Robinson
Political editor
How bold will Cameron be?
The crisis that closed the News of the World is, arguably, the third great crisis of trust in recent years.
First the banks, then MPs expenses, now the media.
David Cameron prides himself on being bold when big moments occur - challenging for the Tory leadership in 2005, calling on Gordon Brown to have a snap election in 2007 and that "big, bold and generous" offer to form the Coalition in 2010. The question this morning is whether he will dare to be bold now.
He must know that he is tainted by the past - thanks to his hiring of Andy Coulson and friendship with Rebekah Brooks - whilst also being responsible for the future - the ownership, regulation and standards of the media.
He will also know that Ed Miliband has found his voice this week. The Labour leader has made an advantage of what looked like a disadvantage - he had no relationship to speak of with the Murdoch empire.
In a speech this morning Miliband says that the question of media ownership is as important as the question of media ethics and calls on the BSkyB deal to be reconsidered.
Miliband wants to portray Cameron as as flat-footed as Gordon Brown was over MPs expenses. The Prime Minister is determined to avoid that.
The only question that remains is to discover how.
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Comment number 141.
Dave frae Elgin8th July 2011 - 13:57
"a Party leader so hungry to get into power that he was prepared to employ just about anybody able to deliver NewsCorp support @ the election" This could be equally applied to Tom Baldwin ex Times hack currently employed by ..Ed Millband!
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Comment number 140.
Its_an_Outrage8th July 2011 - 15:59
32.Fubar_Saunders
Just a quick correction Nick, I know you're on about the here and now, but to be objective, Cameron for all his faults is no more tainted - perhaps even less so - by Coulson than Brown is/was...
*****
Funny you should say that Fubar, because Dave himself said that it was all GB's fault. And that the (then) opposition sadly threw in a bit of a late tackle.
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Comment number 139.
sagamix8th July 2011 - 15:19
'All that dancing on Rupe's grave has just made him richer. Too bad, lefties!' - fubar 119
** **
Now you're just sounding like a football fan cheering for 'your team' - the Murdoch empire.
And that's good - that's authentic - far more so than you pretending to be doing reasoned analysis.
But anyway, him getting richer isn't the issue - the issue is his influence on British politics.
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Comment number 138.
IPGABP18th July 2011 - 14:54
No109 Fubar,
Do you have any evidence that Campbell or Baldwin have been engaged in criminal activity?
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Comment number 137.
BillH138th July 2011 - 15:13
124.John Dalton said:
"Andy Coulson gave David Cameron an assurance that he was not involved in this terrible "hacking" business. If you had been in Cameron,s position you too would have accepted his word,"
This wasn't the local Charity Shop boss interviewing here and besides, Cameron not only had access to the Met/Security Services et al, he was warned by several reliable sources.
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Comments 5 of 141