God, those NoW journos were utter scum weren't they?

[headfairy]

apparently by deleting Milly's messages her family still had some hope that she might still be alive

Here's yesterday's Newsnight (available 7 days on iPlayer) for anyone who missed Tom Watson on Murdoch's regular visits up Downing St's back passage.

Can I take a moment to drop in one of my other concerns?

One of the people accessing the Police National Computer was in Devon & Cornwall. He was doing this for many private investigators, including one in Newcastle who was investigating a Scottish politician (Gordon Brown) presumably on behalf of a newspaper in London.

And this is the reason a lot of people in information security are going "Nyarrgghhh" at the idea of a national NHS database.

It's bad enough that malicious persons can make individual blagging or phishing attacks on, say, Edinburgh Royal Infirmary by phone. But placing more and more of our details in more and more centralised databases means a single corrupt operator can become a one-stop-shop for "clients" seeking info on anyone in the country.

If the PNC and DVLA can fall to this, an NHS database has zero chance of remaining secure. (How many people work for the NHS?)

We should also remember it's not just the press who are interested in medical records. Ex-partners, employers, private insurance companies (scheduled to become more prominent as the state benefits are reduced - they're active lobbyers for reduction of state provision) are all potential customers for this.

god, Jon Stewart is fab! guffaw at schadenfreude-gasm - absolute genius

By the way, this is not just me being a Paranoid Conspiracy Theorist. Some of my techie friends work in information security or on giant databases of all kinds. They're frustrated at the gung-ho attitude of "Oh let's have another database," from some parts of government and organisations.

Ross Anderson, prof of Security Engineering at Cambridge is always a good read on this, esp his 2009 report Database State.

That Daily Show thing... is someone cloning Ben Elton in a factory somewhere...?

thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/11/celebrity-targets-of-tabloid-cheer-its-demise/
in the readers' comments is this from Paul Gambaccini "In 1984, when I was a DJ on BBC Radio 1, I received a phone call at the station from a reporter from the News of the World. He told me it was in my interests to meet him.
"When?" I asked.
"Now," he said.
I proposed a pleasant coffee shop in Soho, where I would at least get a decent hot chocolate out of this. The scumbag then informed me that the paper was working on a story it had obtained from a young man who had proved he knew me by recording a telephone conversation concerning subject matter not remotely related to the "story". The exclusive was that I had sexual intercourse with a number one male chart star on the floor of my kitchen during my birthday party in front of my guests, who included Boy George. The only true part of this story was that I did indeed have a kitchen floor. I looked the reporter in the eyes and said "When you were a boy, did you want to grow up to become this?" I have longed for the end of THE WORLD for twenty-seven years. This week I am as happy as I have ever been. Now bring on THE SUN, THE SUNDAY TIMES and Fox News.

just walked into the room and heard something along the lines of the house of commons is calling for murdoch to drop the sky bid?
did anyone catch that properly?

I heard earlier that both the Murdochs, & Brooks, are being requested to present themselves in front of a Commons committee next Tuesday.

That is only a request though

Yeah, I heard some call like which started "If Murdoch has any sense of decency..."

So that'll get far.

\link{http://www.politicshome.com/uk/article/31770/\Labour's motion on BSkyB takeover}

"This House believes that it is in the public interest for Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation to withdraw their bid for BSkyB?.

That'll be what you heard, teej

Duncan Campbell (Guardian Crime Corresp) just been on - "There are plenty of criminals in jail who wish the Metropolitan police had given up their investigations because they were not co-operative".....arf arf x

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-14120143

Gordon Brown being interviewed on the allegations on his and his family's invasion of privacy. I don't think he's coming out of it too well, 'I didn't know the level of criminality' regarding how the information on him, his finances, his children's medical history, got into the hands of any of the NI news outlets. He's being a 'politician' about this, instead of being human and angry, and admitting he could have started something, some kind of investigation into what was going on at the various news papers implicated in this scandal. It's a fair point to ask why he did nothing, when he was in a position to do something. I don't think this excuses anything that he and his family endured, or anyone else. The blame for those who sought the information lies entirely with those who obtained and used it for commercial gain. Like many politicians, Brown is foolhardy to try and make any political capital out of this. Maybe he's being clever, and the enquiry will show his hands were tied by various circumstances. I just find it hard to believe that as prime minister, or even chancellor, you are powerless to do anything.

'"If I'd have ordered a public inquiry at the time, I'd have probably been castigated because in the runup to a general election people would have said it was an attempt to get at Andy Coulson who'd been appointed by Cameron. So you can't take today's knowledge and just apply it retrospectively. You have to look at the information that was available at the time." ? the former Labour home secretary Alan Johnson tells Sky News why he did not set up an inquiry into phone hacking.' (from the Graun)

This must be one aspect of it - the timing & how it looks to the public (& the press ). Also I saw a quote from GB somewhere today that said he wanted to initiate an inquiry at some point but (a la Yes Prime Minister...) senior officials stopped him.

He sounds ridiculous. If he had ordered an inquiry at the time considering the subject matter I doubt it would have looked that way at all re Coulson etc. And what would have been the problem with that if it had that is what politicians do in the run up to an election try and discredit the opposition.

This is pure conjecture but do you think Cameron is also nervous because Coulson ran his election campaign... and er..do you wonder if the 'dark arts' may have been applied during the campaign? I mean there's no evidence of this but I do sit at my computer trying to work musing about these things...

There must be a reason Cameron doesn't completely condemn this and his reasons for employing AC surely must be dubious otherwise why risk it?

i wonder if his phone was hacked when his wee boy Ivan died? and if not, why not?

indeed, Aitch

Well, I've been wondering that NormanTebbit.

If you have a partisan political agenda, as Murdoch certainly does, and a whole infrastructure devoted to illicit information-gathering, why wouldn't you put the latter in the service of the former? E.g., "Don't ask me how I know, but Tessa Jowell's husband is in bed with Berlusconi" or "David Blunkett, mistress, nanny, visa" etc.

Apart from the poor old Lib Dems, whom no one much cares about, both sides have profited from it. All their efforts were devoted to ensuring they were the party that stayed in Murdoch's favour, and none were directed into stopping the corruption and illegallity in the frst place.

NormanTebbitt - I do sit at my computer trying to work - ha ha....is anyone actually doing anything else? I going to be in s**t if I don't get something done today!

oh look!

GuidoFawkes Guido Fawkes
Stand by folks, story coming detailing @PiersMorgan's complicity in phone hacking. We're naming names and places. #CircularFiringSquad

Tricot un, deux, trois purl un, deux , tricot un...

Thanks Ponders....thought the youtube clip on it was great. Like you I am getting no work done.

ooops

#at=279

I would love to see pierce morgans arse kicked