To fancy Hugh Grant right now?

[NormanTebbit]

on Question Time. He is brilliant.

I wish the Daily Mail would disappear up its own horrible racist Little Englander wotsit

it certainly is a big difference but the difference lies in the end and not the means

swc the difference also lies in the legal status. IANAL, but I understand there is a very specific legal defence of "in the public interest" for doing things which would in normal circumstances be illegal.

I imagine this is on a par with truth being a defence for saying things that could be libellious, and "he was burgling my house" being a defence for hitting someone on the head with a poker.

The Telegraph on public interest defences.

Apparently there is no public interest defence to phone hacking, but there is a public interest defence to breaching the Data Protection Act.

(Not sure why you're talking about public interest defences to criminal charges in general, swc. No one has suggested such.)

To be clear:

The means is not the sole arbiter of whether something is illegal. For some actions, the end is just as important in determining legality.

Hugh is lovely but does not seem to have much of a clue about politics generally so cannot be that interested only in things that concern him. Also is he left or right leaning it was not clear to me? Would have thought he was a tory but he seemed to despise the major parties equally !
We are very shallow that we think he would make a great pm if we don't even know what his politics are Some of you have watched too much love actually !

You think he would make a great prime minister because you've read too many tabloids/trashy magazines/Mail Online and have been brainwashed by celebrity culture

He presented himself really well, I thought - I must admit though, to having a chuckle at his first answer where he did a typical Hugh Grant mumble and pause before answering. Many of his comments had a good basis of thought.

I actually thought it was refreshing to see someone challenge a politician with facts to hand and have the guts to call out Douglas Alexander on his links to Murdoch. But I would rather poke my eyes out than watch Love Actually.

So much of the time QT is just one monotonous soundbite after another - not this time, two politicians actually had a proper argument. It was refreshing.

The only downer was the audience who seem to be made up of a bunch of 14 year old media studies students.

I just don't buy the market forces therefore the public are to blame. Most of us look at car crash pile ups when we pass doesn't mean we're anything to do with the cause, it's just curiosity.

Linerunner... spot on.

SWC.... Are you going to miss the NOTW, you seem a bit angry.

Erm ... I don't think anyone was really suggesting that Huge Grant should or could actually become our PM ... I think it is kind of a joke type thing called 'humour'. Not fall-about, for sure, but, hey.

Thank you Crapola I am glad someone reads my turgid offerings. I pin a medal on you.

Is Hugh Grant Huge? I hope so

Just in case anyone missed your post:

Great post:
LineRunner Fri 08-Jul-11 15:49:48
News International has very deliberately been creating new consumer markets.

It has cleverly cultivated a sense of entitlement in some consumers - a feeling that they, the free-market consumer, are in some way entitled to purchase private facts about public figures - which then crossed the line to become private facts about non-public figures.

Norman... I am watching it tonight on iPlayer.

I once applied for a huge grant. Sadly I only received money.

Oh enjoy Crapola, especially Hugh preparing for his close-up, whipping off his glasses in a J'accuse manner and gently flirting with Shirley Williams.

On market forces -

It would have been a much more satisfying ending to the NOTW if the public had simply stopped buying it/advertisers had boycotted it, so it became untenable. Instead Murdoch sacrificed it to save his share prices. We'll never know how the market would have truly judged its fall from grace

Too right.....this is obviously his least costly route.... I hope to God he doesn't get the BSkyB deal.

I heard that Hugh Grant was at the labour party conference when his baby was being born. I got excited when I heard this I would love to see him more involved in politics and would be great if he actually supported the Labour party. I ressurected this thread as I have visions of him being a real life prime minister. Think love actually