Paul Dacre at the Leveson Inquiry

[bananaistheanswer]

here

I was going to add comment to the other thread I started here at the beginning of the inquiry but purely for the comedy value alone, I felt this warranted it's own, shiney new thread. The above isn't word for word, just the guardian blog, but there are some crackers in there, and I haven't even got to the end.

Did you know, criticism of the Daily Mail stems from a lack of understanding on how journalism works? Next time you see a thread on here quoting the Daily Mail, just remember, we just don't understand how journalism works. Feast your eyes on the pearls of wisdom dished out by the one and only Mr Dacre, and enjoy...

This has made me

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/max-mosley-news-international-has-blackmailed-mps-and-others-leveson-must-hear-the-truth-7685315.html

very interesting. I didn't realise how much involvement mosley had had with the whole build up to the hacking 'scandal' and subsequent inquiry. It all kind of makes sense, him and Hugh Grant being so heavily involved in the Hacked off movement. I should have made the connection much sooner - especially after I read this article, way before the whole thing exploded.

I've already mentioned further up thread, but I'm really interested in hearing the various politicians who will be giving evidence. I just hope it lives up to my expectations. I hope Mr Jay is on top of his game when that starts.

'it was interesting - apart from the fact that Paul hates people like me, and I hate people like him, we got on quite well'

thanks for that, banana - I don't think I've ever read the entire transcript before - interesting

Hugh Grant is a smart cookie (& in fact Paul McMullan isn't so bad, either - in a very creepy kind of way )

Paul McMullan is off his rocker Ponders, in an amusing yet slight disconcerting kind of way .

yes, that too, banana

but is he off his rocker when it comes to what he says about Coulson, eh? eh?

Ah, that'll be when he has had his rare moments of clarity

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-17881382 another lawsuit for NI

Mosley has never forgiven NOTW for the 'Nazi sex orgi' story it ran, and later was sued as it was false

Cameron 'summoned' to answer questions over Hunt

Bercow has granted Labour's questioning of the PM's decision not to order an investigation into Hunt's conduct and alleged breach of the ministerial code. Cameron hates Bercow, I'll bet this has just made his day

It's entirely justified IMO, how Cameron can try to continue to hide behind the Leveson Inquiry to avoid Hunt being investigated when almost every politician who has an opinion on this, of all persuasions, have questioned the ministerial code breach, is beyond me. Especially when the inquiry have told them it's not their job to comment on whether Hunt breached the MC.

I think that 'shoogily peg' Hunt's 'jaiket' is currently resting on, is about to shoogle him onto pastures new.

And Cameron is side stepping the actual question being asked. Jesus wept. When in my lifetime will I ever hear a politician actually answer a question and not 'dance' around the point raised and question asked. So there is no need to investigate ministerial conduct. All's well then eh?

What did Cameron say about Dennis Skinner today? #Welovedennis is trending on twitter.

I'm not sure why cameron is stating that Hunt will be under oath at Leveson? You have to tell the truth in Parliment anyway.

he told him to bugger off and collect his pension. Very rude

'Labour's Dennis Skinner asks why Hunt has got better employment rights than other workers in Britain.
Cameron says Skinner should retire and take his pension.'

cameron is a cunt!

ooh feel a namechange coming on

\link{http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/apr/27/tories-sun-rupert-murdoch?INTCMP=SRCH\this is fascinating}

'At the height of the so-called "Sachsgate" scandal involving BBC presenters Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross in October 2008, Cameron and his wife had dinner with James Murdoch, his partner Kathryn Hufschmid, and William and Ffion Hague in London. The couples discussed "topical subjects" and politics, according to documents submitted to the Leveson inquiry this week.
'The following Monday Cameron provided a barbed comment piece for the Sun, strongly critical of the "bloated" BBC which he accused of "squeezing and crushing" commercial competitors online. The sentiment was echoed little more than a year later by dinner partner James Murdoch, who described the size of the BBC as "chilling" in an excoriating MacTaggart lecture at the Edinburgh TV festival in August 2009.
'James Murdoch, then the chairman of BSkyB and chief executive of News Corp in Europe, also took aim at the media regulator Ofcom, which he attacked as too ready to intervene in the lucrative pay-TV market. The media executive found sympathy with the Conservative party, which in July 2009 vowed to cut Ofcom's powers "by a huge amount".The MacTaggart speech came four weeks after James and Rebekah Brooks told Oliver Letwin, the senior Tory minister, of their fears over excessive media regulation.'

Ofcom told Hunt he should refer the BSkyB deal to the Competition Commission. He didn't.

Cameron says (this afternoon) that if Hunt had not indicated his willingess to accept undertakings in lieu as an alternative, he would have been liable to judicial review.

Undertakings given by NI being trustworthy enough to justify letting them have their own way? Anyway, what undertakings? Do we have details?

I do hope the Guardian (or someone) will put together a detailed timeline of who saw who when, & what was subsequently said & done, over the last few years

Go Tom Watson.

Louise Mensch: you are a shamelessly partisan disgrace and an embarrassment and so is the stuffed stripy shirt alongside you.

Eh? Where was this said? What have I missed?

Publication of the report of the Culture, Media and Sport sub committee here.

Louise Mensch thought everyone who voted against her was being horrid to the Murdochs, expecially James. Then she rushed off to pick up her kids and get her highlights done.

Did he tweet that or something? Or was it said in the commons? I'm at work, and been trying to skim read the report. Nothing on BBC about this comment. I did pick up earlier that the 'partisan' line had been drawn. FFS, if they couldn't sit down and keep all that crap at the door, they should not have been involved in the bloody committee. How the report can come to the conclusion that Murdoch isn't a 'fit and proper person' yet still have some of them shouting it's all a fix, is just insane.

No, sorry the comment was mine

the voting split is contained here

Mensch whined that she would have supported the whole report if the direct criticisms of the Murdochs weren't in it. She said the committee had seen no evidence. She claimed the pro-voters were partisan.

Therese Coffey and the Tory MP in a stripey shirt tutted along with her. John Whittingdale said he wasn't happy eitehr but couldn't vote.

Watson said in answer to a Ch4 reporter at the press conference that he had insisted on the wording because he felt it was more important to lay that down than reach a consensus.

He was vicious in his speech against NewsCorp and the Murdochs, however, I agreed with him (I would though). He was smart enough to repeatedly insist that he wasn't partisan but was seeking the truth (or words to taht effect).

you had me going there! If he had said it, it would have been awesome!

He was pretty good despite that. He is a man with a mission, maybe I wouldn't go along with all of it.

It was plain the Tory side of the committee were desperate not to be harsh on the Murdochs and the coverage from Sky's Joey JOnes was predictably Pravda-esque, or in other words, partisan. Make of that what you will. I think it at least means Joey Jones is eyeing up the job of Dave's press secretary.

The bloke in the stripey shirt, who I can't be bothered to look up, was saying that he didn't think it was fair to say Rupert Murdoch was unfit because he'd been running papers since before the MP was wearing stripey babygros.

Maybe Murdoch's unfit, or maybe not, but that's not a good argument.

Amazing that there are still toadies willing to lash themselves to the Murdoch mast.

Government applying to become a 'core participant' at Leveson Inquiry

Interesting move, particularly as it's after James Murdoch landed Hunt/the government in the shit.

Also, Brooks and Coulson to appear next week. And I'll be in Florida so will miss it all. I'll be relying on all you fellow obsessives to keep me abreast of all developments.

'Tis all available on the Leveson website - you can watch the sessions streamed live or later.

Lying by the pool is no excuse, you know!

This govt is so corrupt. I cannot believe this Hope Brooks brings him down