Andy Coulson has resigned as David Cameron’s media chief in the light of revelations of illegal phone tapping at the News of the World when he was the editor.
He, somewhat belatedly in my opinion, decided that his position has become untenable. Apparently however, he will stay in post for a few weeks, presumably to show that he was not a wrong doer and has not been sacked.
The problem with Mr Coulson’s situation was that, if he knew that illegal phone tapping was the chosen method for the exposés that the News of the World was getting, then he was complicit in it, and therefore, as the boss, overall responsible for law breaking.
If, on the other hand, as he repeatedly claimed he had no knowledge of the hacking, it makes you wonder how such an incredibly incompetent and irresponsible journalist would make it as an editor of a national newspaper.
Tabloid newspapers make their money out of sensation. Their readers are interested in who Jor
dan is married to this week; how mad Cheryl Cole is and what therapy she is undergoing; what Prince Charles was saying on the phone, late at night, to Mrs Parker-Bowles from his four poster; whether David Beckham has been having an affair (thinking that his wife had left him... and unaware that her latest diet had left her invisible to the human eye). In order to keep a supply of these ever more salacious stories coming, reporters have to find more and more outlandish and possibly illegal ways of investigating the lives of the rich and infamous.
Either Mr Coulson neglected to ask how his reporters were getting the big exclusives they kept turning up for him, or he was naive enough to believe that the reporter’s next door neighbour’s sister was a close friend of the woman who cleaned for the neighbour of whichever prince or “star” they were investigating.
Either way he was a poor choice as close confidant of the prime minister.
Of course, in fairness to Mr Cameron, is it not possible that the choice was made by Rupert Murdoch as a quid pro quo for him swapping horses, and dedicating his all-powerful British news machine, including The Sun, The Times, The News of the World, and BskyB to the Conservative cause in the run up to the UK general election.
Cameron was said to be "very sorry" that Mr Coulson had felt "compelled" to resign due to continuing pressure. Well, whatever Dave, but no one believes anything you say now.
He, somewhat belatedly in my opinion, decided that his position has become untenable. Apparently however, he will stay in post for a few weeks, presumably to show that he was not a wrong doer and has not been sacked.
The problem with Mr Coulson’s situation was that, if he knew that illegal phone tapping was the chosen method for the exposés that the News of the World was getting, then he was complicit in it, and therefore, as the boss, overall responsible for law breaking.
If, on the other hand, as he repeatedly claimed he had no knowledge of the hacking, it makes you wonder how such an incredibly incompetent and irresponsible journalist would make it as an editor of a national newspaper.
Tabloid newspapers make their money out of sensation. Their readers are interested in who Jor
dan is married to this week; how mad Cheryl Cole is and what therapy she is undergoing; what Prince Charles was saying on the phone, late at night, to Mrs Parker-Bowles from his four poster; whether David Beckham has been having an affair (thinking that his wife had left him... and unaware that her latest diet had left her invisible to the human eye). In order to keep a supply of these ever more salacious stories coming, reporters have to find more and more outlandish and possibly illegal ways of investigating the lives of the rich and infamous.Either Mr Coulson neglected to ask how his reporters were getting the big exclusives they kept turning up for him, or he was naive enough to believe that the reporter’s next door neighbour’s sister was a close friend of the woman who cleaned for the neighbour of whichever prince or “star” they were investigating.
Either way he was a poor choice as close confidant of the prime minister.
Of course, in fairness to Mr Cameron, is it not possible that the choice was made by Rupert Murdoch as a quid pro quo for him swapping horses, and dedicating his all-powerful British news machine, including The Sun, The Times, The News of the World, and BskyB to the Conservative cause in the run up to the UK general election.
Cameron was said to be "very sorry" that Mr Coulson had felt "compelled" to resign due to continuing pressure. Well, whatever Dave, but no one believes anything you say now.
Pics: Andy Coulson, who will not get any unemployment benefit, because he left a job of his own free will. Rupert the shar pie, and Cameron looking happy, must have been before he got the job.
Dans ce pays-ci il est bon de tuer de temps en temps un amiral pour encourager les autres
ReplyDeleteas the French say.
Must admit to a glowing feeling in me gut Ms M says its just being hungry.But its the feeling you get when you see your favorite boxer ko his opponent.
We have had two good days Balls is back(good move i say) and then this whoopee!
enjoy the day i am.
With thanks to the guardian
ReplyDeleteTime for some Coulson jokes. Here are the best from Twitter:
Coulson resigns "to spend more time listening to other people's families".
@RopesToInfinity
Show your appreciation for Andy Coulson. Leave him a message of a support on your voicemail.
@davidschneider
Coulson first learned of his resignation when listening to David Cameron's voicemail.
@bristolpaul
Why did Andy Coulson resign? Because he couldn't hack it any more.
Ed Balls is back. And Niko is happy ?
ReplyDeleteIt will be fun seeing him blinking his way through his speeches while the coagulation shout 'where's Broon, mind that Nokia, no more boom and bust, £4trillion Labour debt legacy' etc..
We have another New Labour shadow Chancellor who has never had a real job. The obligatory study at Oxford and Harvard, a spell as a financial journalist followed by the usual jobs in politics, marriage to another political worthy and a questionable record on the old ‘expenses’ front thus:
In September 2007, with his wife Yvette Cooper, he was accused of “breaking the spirit of Commons rules” by using MPs’ allowances to help pay for a £655,000 home in north London. Balls and his wife bought a four-bed house in Stoke Newington, north London, and registered this as their second home (rather than their home in Castleford, West Yorkshire) in order to qualify for up to £44,000 a year to subsidise a reported £438,000 mortgage under the Commons Additional Costs Allowance, of which they claimed £24,400. This is despite both spouses working in London full-time and their children attending local London schools. Through a spokesman, Balls and Cooper asserted that “The whole family travel between their Yorkshire home and London each week when Parliament is sitting. As they are all in London during the week, their children have always attended the nearest school to their London house.”
Additional allegations have been made about Balls’ and his wife’s “flipping” of their second home three times within the space of two years.
( * from Inspector gadget )
Monty
ReplyDeleteallegations!allegations! and when we catch the alligator there will be trouble so there will.
anyway you know what its like yer best Boxers are a bit nasty yer best footie players are shag happy drunks.
So we forgive our Favorite politicos(Look a Alex Salmond) their little peccadilloes just as long as Ed hits em square in the Balls.
Mr Mxyzptlk - Would he be one of the MPs or members that like hitting the little kiddies balls that the Labour party are covering up for then?
ReplyDeleteOr maybe he was one of the Labour party involved in the 7/7 London Bombings then - You know the party that refused to have an independent inquiry into this.
Little peccadilloes eh?
Je ne savais pas que vous étiez un francophone Niko. Mais vous avez quand-même raison !
ReplyDeleteBut, I would caution you:
Dans ce pays-ci, il est dangereux de rigoler trop à un politicien, car, au prochain coin de la rue il y aura, probablement, quelque chose qui va vous piquer les fesses.
(In this country it is dangerous to laugh too much at a politician, because at teh next corner there will probably be some thing that will bite you on the bum) or words to that effect. It's an old French saying that I just made up...
Wait for a day or two and Labour will have done something particularly stupid AGAIN.
But, Niko, I gotta admit that the jokes weren't bad.
ReplyDeleteSpot on Monty. Balls and Yvette (lovely name) are pretty much up to their oxters in slime from expenses.
ReplyDeleteif I did something like that I'd be in court followed by a spell in Saughton. They of course simply broke the spirit of the rules, bless them.
And again you are right about all the things that they can throw at him about the end to boom....which he got right, and bust....which he didn’t. Rather spectacularly, although the likes of him would only notice it because neither he nor his wife have cabinet salaries any more.
The one cheering thing about it is that, say what you will about Blinky, he knows something about economics... and more, he knows all the technical terms, and BIG words, and he knows the difference between endogenous and exogenous growth theory. George only knows that if you put all your money in the BVI, you can get a fair return for it, and you don’t pay tax... Jolly good wheeze, what!!
What little peccadilloes Niko? Do you want to be more specific?
ReplyDeleteIt's not TOO often that I agree with Simon Heffer, but I think this is a fair comment from him:
ReplyDelete"Never mind what we think of Andy Coulson. What do we think now of Dave, who appointed him knowing his proximity to the phone-hacking scandal? Some of us said at the time that this was reckless. Let us suppose that, as he maintains, Mr Coulson knew nothing about the criminal enterprise going on when he edited the News of the World: did that not suggest he was deficient in some way?
I think Mr Coulson has much more explaining to do. I am amazed that Dave did not think this too, and that he, in the wake of what I know he was advised by very senior colleagues, persisted in having this deeply compromised man in the heart of Number 10. This is catastrophic for Dave, whose arrogance, lack of judgment and contempt for decent values are all exposed at a stroke by Coulson's scuttling off with his head held low.
Perhaps Dave should learn a lesson, show some humility, and wonder whether some of his other decisions might be equally suspect."
Wait for a day or two and Labour will have done something particularly stupid AGAIN.
ReplyDeleteLike getting out of bed and Balls is no economic guru just a bully boy.
The Lower Edge of Luxury
Another U-Turn? Thought "call me" had full confidence in him and the Tory party had fully investigated his background before giving him the job!!
ReplyDeleteWhit’s Liz’s number agin?
ReplyDeleteMaybe not CH, but he's going to make wee Georgie's life a bit more difficult that AJ did. If nothing else, he knows a lot of words that old George will nevr have heard of.
ReplyDeleteApparently Munguin, Dave was advised by "senior" Tories (whatever they are) not to entertain him as he was a firework waiting to go off.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I think that that nice old man Murdoch was probably pretty insistant that he wanted HIS man inside number ten.
Dave of course is not the most decisive man in the world.
Excellent reading there CH.
ReplyDelete