As Britain's top-selling newspaper collapses under the weight of its own phone hacking scandal, online activists can take inspiration from their role in the chain of events which brought the News of the World crashing to the ground.

There is one good way to bring the family down: The Proceeds of Crime Act - they can't avoid it by closing the paper down.

The imminent closure of the News of the World does not change the fact that Cameron is closely linked to the paper through his associations with Andy Coulson, Rebekah Brooks, Elisabeth Murdoch and others.

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.

Up until now, News International and the government have sought, and to some extent succeeded, in making the phone-hacking story one that is largely about celebrities.

In the lexicon of journalism the word "unprecedented" has reached cliché status. But I make no apology for using it to describe both the allegation against the News of the World that it hacked into a murdered girl's voicemail messages and the public response to it.