Rebekah Brooks charged :)

[NicholasTeakozy]

Short version here I'll have a dig for more details. Oh happy day! :o

I agree that Cameron will try to rise above it. The thing is, it's not up to him. He has been very close to Brooks and of course appointed Coulson as his press secretary (and then didn't make him undergo the proper level of vetting). Once people in his own party start to question his judgement, then the game's up, I think.

I think Cameron's position will depend on whether the Tories can think of someone who would do better than him at the next GE. If so he gets booted for having poor judgement. If not he is feted as the country's hero.

I agree people should get a fair trial. But I don't think the irony can be lost. How many times has the Sun hounded people not even charged with a crime never mind convicted. And written all sorts about them. And then paid out compensation and that made it OK. I won't mention any individual cases but I'm sure people can think of them.

In Cameron's case, isn't it likely to be about whether he misled parliament? Which is technically perjury.

What can people do in the party if they start to doubt his judgement? What rules do the party have?

Blimey. Not a happy morning for Cameron.

Wonder if the jury will get that clip of Brooks telling a select committee 'we have paid police officers' played to them?

46 Tory MPs have to sign a call for a leadership contest (there was a thing about Nadine Dorries following the poor local election results)

misleading parliament isn't the same thing as perjury in a criminal court or investigation - you'd be accused, tried and punished by Parliament rather than the courts (don't think it's happened for 100s of years if at all, but vagely recall you'd be brought before the bar of the house and could potentially be chucked in the cells there, although again no idea whether there are any cells available).

Won't Cameron be able to keep claiming that he was constantly told by AC that he knew nothing of phone hacking.

In fairness I suspect DC WAS told that by AC

Sentencing here:

www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/may/15/perverting-course-justice-maximum-life-sentence

yes, Cameron can claim that; but how to justify the failure to vet Coulson properly?

\link{http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/ios-exclusive-revealed--how-coulson-called-camerons-bluff-7742363.html\AND Coulson refused to sign a confidentiality clause} and they still gave him the job!!!

I read that too Ponders and Gideon was a little thoughtless in not making him sign a confidentiality agreement, it's coming back to bite him on the arse. :o

\link{http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2015573/Rebekah-Brooks-vetoed-BBC-man-told-Cameron-No10-job-Andy-Coulson.html\oooOOOooo!!!}

'Disgraced former News International boss Rebekah Brooks intervened to persuade David Cameron to make ex-News of the World editor Andy Coulson his spin doctor, it was claimed last night.
She is understood to have urged Mr Cameron to scrap plans to give the job to a senior BBC journalist. Mr Cameron was told it should go to someone who was ?acceptable? to News International.'

From July 2011. Very interesting. (but stupid)

now I know that's from the DM but

However, it went to Mr Coulson after Mrs Brooks got involved, according to sources in the Tory party and at News International.
She is said to have told Mr Cameron that the post should go to Mr Coulson to strengthen links between the Tories and News International. He had resigned a few months earlier as News of the World editor over the phone-hacking storm.
An individual intimately involved in Mr Coulson?s recruitment said
?Rebekah indicated the job should go to Andy. Cameron was told it should be someone acceptable to News International.
'The company was also desperate to find something for Andy after he took the rap when the phone hacking first became an issue. The approach was along the lines of, ?If you find something for Andy we will return the favour?.'

It's not clear if that was a DM story originally, or if they lifted it from elsewhere (they do that a lot with features ) but still, these "sources & intimately involved individuals" must be known by name to whoever first wrote the piece...

Even if you accept that Cameron is completely innocent and had no idea at all that Coulson was up to his neck in phone hacking, then he still comes out of it badly by a) showing really poor judgement of character and/or b) being completely in the pocket of News International. Do we really want someone that feeble as Prime Minister? (Rhetorical question, btw.)

Oh Happy Days, I really thought that she would not be charged as I admit I thought those around her in power would intervene! Good to see that hasn`t happened, (yes, i know shes only been charged not convicted but a step in the right direction!), hopefully this case might be a turning point for some of those in the media who have thought themselves above the law and moraly pretty disgusting. Its a great oppotunity to clean it all up and stick to good investagive journalisim which Britain is actually really good at.

Next stop, Cameron and snivelling Murdoch!!!!!

Nancy - fantastic

but it all makes DC look so inept & pathetic, Pinot - especially allowing NI to dictate (allegedly) who he employed in such an important role.

Oh I agree with you Ponders, I just think that the whole top tier of politics is so rife with back-scratching that there would be other layers to go before the very top man got scalped. There is always a chain of command and DC will throw them under the bus before he goes himself. Plus I think they're all scrambling now to escape blame that they'll unite around DC to try and minimise the story. I mean, in essence, this should result in an election and some massive scalps but I just don't see it happening. I think that it's too big and that they'll unite to save themselves.

I wonder who'll be round her house for Christmas this year?

I wonder if she'll be round her house for Christmas this year...

Karen Matthews?

I expect you're right, Pinot

How much longer can Jeremy C Hunt hang on?

she's out, isn't she, Nancy?

Oh, it probably won't go to court until early next year so there's plenty of time left for her to enjoy herself.

Charlie and Rebekah tucking in to a M&S turkey crown at the opposite ends of a vast table and staring at the empty mantelpiece where their xmas cards used to go. It's tragic. I'm welling up.