News of the World phone hacking

[drummindefender]

Even though I know this makes me sound like a complete nonce, Hugh Grant was brilliant on Question Time last night regarding this subject! Made both Labour and Tory MPs very uncomfortable!!!

 

[RHYDAL]

Even though I know this makes me sound like a complete nonce, Hugh Grant was brilliant on Question Time last night regarding this subject! Made both Labour and Tory MPs very uncomfortable!!!

He is a fecking hypocrite with a huge axe to grind.
How can someone who breaks the law by employing a prostitute behind the back of his gorgeous woman talk about moral values and be taken seriously except by women who couldn't see past his lovely glasses which made him look so thoughtful and kind?

 

[Real Sharapova]

He is a fecking hypocrite with a huge axe to grind.
How can someone who breaks the law by employing a prostitute behind the back of his gorgeous woman talk about moral values and be taken seriously except by women who couldn't see past his lovely glasses which made him look so thoughtful and kind?

This gorgeous woman - wouldn't be Welsh by any chance? Shouldn't let it cloud your judgement so blatantly.

 

[camberwell fox]

flange

 

[jb5000]

He is a fecking hypocrite with a huge axe to grind.
How can someone who breaks the law by employing a prostitute behind the back of his gorgeous woman talk about moral values and be taken seriously except by women who couldn't see past his lovely glasses which made him look so thoughtful and kind?

I don't know about the states, but prostitution is NOT illegal in this country. What a man does in this area is between him and his girl/wife- not you, me and the rest of us.

 

[jb5000]

What I don't like is the sanctimonious crocodile tears from the other papers/TV who would sell their own mothers for a scoop.

Which is why we need a full, independent and judge-led enquiry. The government is happy to give this for the enquiry into the coppers, but not yet the press. Please do all write to your MPs to let them know you want this - www.writetothem.com

 

[Mawsley]

Which is why we need a full, independent and judge-led enquiry. The government is happy to give this for the enquiry into the coppers, but not yet the press. Please do all write to your MPs to let them know you want this - www.writetothem.com

Why do I want the government to spend a mint on something that we can already guess most of the answers to? Something which will produce no outcome?

If laws have been broken then there will be prosecutions. Seems good enough to me.

I'd rather spend the cash on pensioners. Or something useful.

 

[bocadillo]

Why do I want the government to spend a mint on something that we can already guess most of the answers to? Something which will produce no outcome?

If laws have been broken then there will be prosecutions. Seems good enough to me.

I'd rather spend the cash on pensioners. Or something useful.

Good idea!

 

[David Gwilliam]

Rupert Murdoch may be a thoroughly unpleasant man but he is extremely able. Nobody seems to have noticed what is really going on. Rupert Murdoch's priority is protecting James Murdoch.

The largely innocent NOW employees are sacked but Murdoch keeps Rebekah Brooks on. This leads to huge criticism of her - quite rightly. Why is she not sacked? Why does Rupert Murdoch twice turn down offers of resignation. He has no loyalty to her. If he can keep Rebekah Brooks in place until the row dies down - which may not to possible - then she can deflect the anger from James Murdoch.

 

[drummindefender]

He is a fecking hypocrite with a huge axe to grind.
How can someone who breaks the law by employing a prostitute behind the back of his gorgeous woman talk about moral values and be taken seriously except by women who couldn't see past his lovely glasses which made him look so thoughtful and kind?

Couldn't give a shit if he was banging prostitutes. The way he made those MPs squirm last night was ace

 

[RHYDAL]

This gorgeous woman - wouldn't be Welsh by any chance? Shouldn't let it cloud your judgement so blatantly.

Liz Hurley? Welsh? Are you confused with the Lineker bloke?

I don't know about the states, but prostitution is NOT illegal in this country. What a man does in this area is between him and his girl/wife- not you, me and the rest of us.

Lewd conduct in a public place, where children might see it, is.....http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/prostitute-delivers-a-blow-to-hugh-grants-image-1588621.html

 

[Mawsley]

Good idea!

Or something useful.

 

[David Gwilliam]

Even though I know this makes me sound like a complete nonce, Hugh Grant was brilliant on Question Time last night regarding this subject! Made both Labour and Tory MPs very uncomfortable!!!

The government spokesman on Question Time is always in an impossible position. He may believe in a Judicial Inquiry. David Cameron may believe in a Judicial Inquiry. However, it has to be announced by the Prime Minister in Parliament not a minister on Question Time.

I certainly want a Judicial Inquiry. My concern is that Labour may be so keen to publicly push for this that it makes it difficulr for the government to agree. My first reaction was to agree that any inquiry should wait until the police investigation is over. However, Shirley Williams made a very good point that the number of cases involved is likely to make Operation Weeting take a long time.

It is vital that the inquiry should have terms of reference that do not limit it to News International,be able to compel witnesses to attend and that its report be made public. More controversially I believe the inquiry should be public (except in a few cases involving security). If people see how carefully witnesses are questioned they are more likely to accept a report.

One trivial point. At no point did Hugh Grant bring up the matter with the prostitute and since it happened well before the hacking it had no relevance. The decision of the Sun columnist to bring it up showed a sheer lack of decency on the part of the journalist involved.

 

[Mawsley]

I certainly want a Judicial Inquiry.

Why?

The decision of the Sun columnist to bring it up showed a sheer lack of decency on the part of the journalist involved.

Should the elephant (having it's trunk sucked) in the room not be spoken about for some reason then?

 

[drummindefender]

The government spokesman on Question Time is always in an impossible position. He may believe in a Judicial Inquiry. David Cameron may believe in a Judicial Inquiry. However, it has to be announced by the Prime Minister in Parliament not a minister on Question Time.

I certainly want a Judicial Inquiry. My concern is that Labour may be so keen to publicly push for this that it makes it difficulr for the government to agree. My first reaction was to agree that any inquiry should wait until the police investigation is over. However, Shirley Williams made a very good point that the number of cases involved is likely to make Operation Weeting take a long time.

It is vital that the inquiry should have terms of reference that do not limit it to News International,be able to compel witnesses to attend and that its report be made public. More controversially I believe the inquiry should be public (except in a few cases involving security). If people see how carefully witnesses are questioned they are more likely to accept a report.

One trivial point. At no point did Hugh Grant bring up the matter with the prostitute and since it happened well before the hacking it had no relevance. The decision of the Sun columnist to bring it up showed a sheer lack of decency on the part of the journalist involved.

I appreciate that davey boy. More the Labour guy than anything !

 

[RHYDAL]

One trivial point. At no point did Hugh Grant bring up the matter with the prostitute and since it happened well before the hacking it had no relevance. The decision of the Sun columnist to bring it up showed a sheer lack of decency on the part of the journalist involved.

MPs have to register their interests within the House of Commons so that everyone else is aware of any agendas other than their electorate's issues which they may have. Why shouldn't Grant's agenda be clarified?
The tangled web of agendas is what this whole issue is based on after all.

 

[David Gwilliam]

I find myself in the strange situation of defending Hugh Grant - strange because I get irritated by how wimpish todays leading men are and Hugh Grant ranks only just above Tom Cruise for irritation.

The business with Hugh Grant and the prostitute was in 1995 (I had to look this up on Wikipedia). It came about because of the police and not a newspaper. Wikipedia makes no suggestion that journalistic bad practice was involved.

Hugh Grant's agenda is surely clear. His phone was hacked. The original police investigation seemed to him inadequate. When he "bugged the bugger" in an article for the New Statesman he became more proactive than other celebrities. Question Time likes to have a celebrity on the panel to dumb it down. In this case the celebrituy had a valid reason for being on the programme and did very well.

I am now going to risk sounding "holier than thou". I can understand people buying the Daily Mail and The Guardian because they are both informative and feed the individual bias of the buyer. People prefer to read articles that fit in with their prejudices - what is called confirmation bias. I find it disconcerting that people choose the NOW or The Sun yet my newsagent tells me he sells 80 copies of the News Of The World.

 

[Leesoh]

The Daily Mail? Informative?

Is this the same Daily Mail that ignored the phone hacking scandal in order to tell us what the real people's Princess was wearing on her jollies to Canada?

 

[David Gwilliam]

The Daily Mail? Informative?

Is this the same Daily Mail that ignored the phone hacking scandal in order to tell us what the real people's Princess was wearing on her jollies to Canada?

I am deeply worried by your description of Kate as "the real peoples princess". This implies that you know an imposter who is the fake peoples princess.
Is this a Katie Price publicuity stunt?

 

[Mawsley]

I am deeply worried by your description of Kate as "the real peoples princess". This implies that you know an imposter who is the fake peoples princess.
Is this a Katie Price publicuity stunt?

Cate.

And I'm deeply worried by your inability to answer a question.