Hackgate - what now?

The phone hacking scandal has dominated the news these last few weeks but as I write, it has now been blown off the front pages by the shocking news from Norway, the untimely death of Amy Winehouse at only 27, fears about the Euro, the economy and other matters; but before it all becomes tomorrow's chip paper, I shall take a brief look back at the last few weeks.

When it emerged at the beginning of July that journalists and private detectives working for the News of the World had been hacking into the mobile phone of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler while she was still missing in 2002 there was widespread public revulsion. No-one would argue that tabloid journalists are saintly figures and most of us I suspect were not particularly worried about celebrities or politicians, but with Milly, and the murdered girls at Soham, the victims of London 7/7, the bereaved families of soldiers returning from Afghanistan and many ordinary people, it was clear they had crossed a line which was totally unacceptable.

So we have seen the closure of a 168 year old newspaper, the announcemant of public and judicial inquiries, David Cameron on the back foot, Ed Miliband making hay, the resignation and subsequent arrest of Rebekah Brooks, the Chief Commissioner of the Met Sir Paul Stephensen throwing in the towel and his assistant John Yates effectively being told to go. Plans for a full take-over of BSkyB by News Corporation were abandoned and finally Rupert Murdoch and his son James were dragged before a select committee of the House of Commons. The old man described it as the humblest and, I would add, possibly the most humiliating day of his life. He appeared to express a mixture of remorse and ignorance. James reminded me of a smooth American lawyer and was described by one columnist as souding like a cross between Kermit the frog and Paul Gambaccini. To me he seemed evasive, and there are now real doubts as to whether he was telling the truth. The day ended in pantomime farce with a plate full of shaving foam thrown into Murdoch senior's face while his young wife saw off the assailant. The following day the PM gave an emergency statement to the House and took questions for three hours before they all finally went into delayed recess.

For now, a chapter has closed in this sorry affair. There are real questions about the PM's judgement in employing Andy Coulson as his press secretary when he was repeatedly warned not to do so. What did he and Ms Brooks really discuss at their frequent meetings in Downing Street? Questions remain about either incompetence or corruption within the police and about why earlier inquiries failed.

It says an awful lot about the state of British journalism and the lengths some papers are prepared to go to to get a good story, about what papers we read and why. It raises issues about the ownership of all our media, and the sometimes unhealthy influence of one individual or organsiation on our politics and government. Papers like the Guardian and politicians like John Watson are to be applauded for raising these issues at a time they were being suppressed or simply swept under the carpet.

I think we may have regained our appetite for truly independent journalism. Some good will come of this!

Published Wednesday 27th July 2011