Business as usual?
from: Comment is free | The Guardian
11th July 2011
Even before a squeak had emerged from News Corp, the eighth day of the saga was every bit as instructive as the seven that had gone before. Before lunch, it emerged that the News of the World’s informal payroll reached into the royal household, with protection officers reportedly taking bungs for providing contact details for – among others – the Queen.
Next Scotland Yard put out a statement, which complained about leaks that were jeopardising its ongoing investigation, and pointed the finger in the direction of senior News International staff. A little later, the Guardian and BBC revealed that the previous prime minister had been subject to extensive NI prying.
Gordon Brown’s treatment was striking in two particulars. First, the intrusive practices were not restricted to the NoW – which dents NI’s ability to revisit its favourite “one rotten apple” defence. Second, questions will be asked about how the Sun obtained details from medical information on Mr Brown’s infant son and why Rebekah Brooks, as editor, decided to publish a story, based on the material, about the child’s serious illness.
At around the time this story was breaking, Rupert Murdoch produced his latest breathtaking gambit. Five days after closing the country’s bestselling newspaper in order to secure the quick-fire acquisition of 100% of BSkyB, News Corp signalled there was no real hurry.
It was suddenly happy to have the matter referred to the Competition Commission. Even in these shaming times, Wapping retains at least the appearance of dictating events up-river in Westminster, and a few minutes later, Jeremy Hunt was on his feet in the Commons explaining that a referral which he had bent over backwards to avoid would after all be going ahead.
And so a bunch of technocrats will now spend months poring over statistics about market share and weighing arguments about vertical integration. Important work, certainly, but work removed from the outrage gripping the country.
