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The latest disclosures about how people working for the News of the World apparently hacked into the phones of Milly Dowler and the families of 7/7 victims have triggered nationwide disgust.
It is at times like these that people look to their Prime Minister to face up to the challenges presented, without fear or favour. I am afraid that yesterday David Cameron did not rise to that challenge.
Having previously resisted calls for a public inquiry, he now appears to believe we should have one. But he is still dragging his feet on the timing.
He continues to defend the way the Government has handled News Corporation's bid for complete ownership of BSkyB . But the obvious, right course of action now is what it should have been from the start: to make a reference to the Competition Commission.
The right thing needs to be done in relation to this decision - and needs to be seen to be done. Referring the bid to the Competition Commission is the way to achieve it. But everything David Cameron has said indicates the Government intends to plough on regardless.
He refused to do what families up and down the country will think he must do - which is to call on those who were editing for the News of the World at the time to take responsibility for what happened - and stop pointing the fingers of blame at others.
And finally, he could not bring himself to admit - as he must - that it was a gross error of judgement to bring Andy Coulson into Downing Street machine as director of communications.
What happened while Mr Coulson was editor of the News of the World was hardly a state secret. After all, he had resigned from that post over phone hacking in the first place.
David Cameron simply made the wrong decision to give him such a senior post inside the government machine.
Above all, the public need to have confidence that they have a Prime Minister who can speak for them on how we restore the reputation of our newspapers, so vital to our democracy.
On yesterday's showing, he is failing to live up to that task.
Lucy P. Marcus: Boards in Times of Crisis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJfzUimZ7PY&feature=channel_video_title
Why?
Do the right thing on Wednesday and ensure that the beast that is NI has its goolies cut off.
Stop the BSkyB deal dead in its tracks before those shabby cowards the Cons pull the shell game in September and shuffle the deal through.
We, the UK electorate, are watching.
It has been written that Ed Milliband has been threatened with repercussions if he continues to ask for Rebekah Brooks' resignation. If that is true, then this gives him the right to speak, scream, and kick, although it would have been better had be spoken up when Murdoch visited Tony Blair (3 times) prior to the Iraq war to get Britain in under false pretenses. For whom does Murdoch actually work?
What's important now is to lay criminal charges to all involved, so that they can disappear from the picture. And that includes the criminal charges for corruption by an American listed company in a foreign land, i.e. James Murdoch/police payments. Apparently there is a law in America that would allow that. Next step: Don't allow their education division to influence your children.
News International has been polluting British politics for decades and all the major parties tolerated
it because they were scared.
Yes it’s sickening what the New of the World did, trying to exploit murdered children and fallen
soldiers to sell their pathetic little comic. However by trying to harness our disgust over that
exploitation for personal political gain, you too are guilty of the same insidious little game.
I’m so proud we Scots booted Labour to the kerb to join the Tories, you’re all the same.
We first kicked the Tories to the kerb, followed by Labour, read again.
Regardless of what anyone says, there’s still plenty of oil and gas, enough to make a real difference for Scotland if we use the proceeds to make Scotland totally carbon neutral.
Without the North Sea funds, England will have an impossible time maintaining nuclear submarines AND their welfare state. Labour knows if we go alone their chances of regaining power are slim.
The real reason for Salmond’s big win – and I haven’t heard this discussed – is the Tory coalition down south. When Thatcher was in, Labour was totally unable to protect us, so this time around we voted someone in who would aggressively defend Scotland’s interest.
And it should work as the English are unable to attack the SNP without forcing us closer to separation. Salmond can make demands and every time Westminster says no it serves his cause anyway.
The greatest enemy the SNP face about now is themselves. With such a majority Salmond is going to have a tough time quelling the ambitions of the more strident members of his party who want to go for all out independence.
Fingers crossed.
That, however, does not excuse Cameron. He was warned of Coulson's character and past before he took him on. Many suspicious people, like my good self, always saw Coulson as 'Rupe's' man in Number 10 not Cameron's. Worse, Cameron did allow himself to become entangled in the so-called 'Chipping Norton Set'. Peter Oborne's article from yesterday's Telegraph is well worth reading to see the moral outrage felt by traditional Conservatives.
Can you not see that your attempt at political point scoring (which this is, let's be frank about it), makes you no better than those appalling journalists at the NoW.
Your barely disguised attempt to garner political capital will not bring justice to the victims, but working with the government willm by being patient and taking time over this. A hastily organised enquiry, the result of a knee jerk reaction, is not the solution here - and clearly David Cameron recognises this.