The scandal that just won’t go away
WAS a government special adviser involved in illegal and systematic tapping of private individuals’ phones?
If the answer is yes, he will be sacked, then probably jailed. According to today’s Guardian (and the New York Times), Andy Coulson…
“actively encouraged” a named reporter to engage in the illegal interception of voicemail messages.
The right wing defence of Coulson seems to have focussed almost entirely on the fact that, since he’s a Tory, he can’t possibly have been up to no good. (Ahem!)
But while some in the blogosphere and in the media are getting all worked up about people’s sexuality and other non-stories, here is an issue that should worry us all. That the News of the World has pursued these activities in the past is not disputed. If it turns out that the Prime Minister, despite all previous warnings, employed someone guilty of these crimes, his own judgment will be called into question.
Even as you read these words, I can see the name “McBride” form on your lips: yes, what McBride did while he was a civil servant was unacceptable (though not illegal and nowhere near as serious as the charges against Coulson). And yes, it did say something about Gordon Brown’s judgment that he chose to keep him on despite warnings from colleagues about McBride’s briefings against Labour ministers. So the same rule applies to Cameron. If the allegations turn out to have any substance, Cameron will have to take full responsibility and sack the person responsible. Oh, hang on…