Miliband flunks hacking statement

Caught most of the proceedings on today's statement by Cameron on phone hacking.

It was a robust performance from Cameron. And despite having some difficult issues to deal with I thought he struck the right balance between partisanship and statesmanship.

However, Ed Miliband was dreadful. Trying to make partisan points when you and your party are up to your necks in the scandal isn't sensible. And he was put down brilliantly with Cameron's line about 'only one party leader still employing ex-News International staff'

One wonders what ex-News International hack Tom Baldwin (and now Mili minor's media adviser) makes of it?

Are further revelations about Met corruption on the way?

Yesterday's big news that Sir Paul Stephenson, Commissioner of the Met police, has resigned has been reported as putting more pressure on PM Cameron. The reason - highlighted by Labour's Yvette Cooper - is the contrast between the Commissioner's 'honourable' action of resigning over his employment of the Deputy Editor of the News of the World compared with the 'dishonourable' action of PM Cameron who remains in post even though he appointed its Editor.

However, senior policemen are almost as difficult to winkle out of office as dodgy politicians - witness how long Stephenson's predecessor held on despite losing the confidence of the Mayor.

What is perhaps being forgotten is that there are two current inquiries into phone hacking - Operation Weeting which is re-investigating the shambolic previous investigation on Labour's watch - and Operation Elvedon which is looking at what is euphemistically called 'inappropriate payments to the police' ie bribery.

My reading is that Stephenson resigned because he knew that the case against the Met will include widespread evidence of 'inappropriate payments' as well as the employment of dodgy ex-hacks.

The case against Cameron is just about the employment of dodgy ex-hacks.

Phone hacking - the view from across the pond

Here's Jon Stewart's take - unfortunately I can't find any video footage of it. The audience reaction is fascinating and shows perhaps how cynical people in the UK are in comparison:

Learning the right lesson from the NOTW hacking scandal

Given the momentous events of last week I guess I picked the wrong week to go on holiday ...

But as the dust settles on the scandal (and on the News of the World itself), the talk is now of improving press regulation. Nick Clegg has said the Press Complaints Commission needs to be replaced with something with more power.

But I remain to be convinced that this is a problem of regulation (or lack of it).

Just like the banks, the British media is run by just a handful of large multi-media organisations. This oligopoly sets the rules by which it is run - influences decision makers to keep legislation light touch and generally behaves as masters of the universe. The fall of the News of the World is the media equivalent of the fall of HBOS where hubris and arrogance allowed an unacceptable culture of risk taking and moral vacuity to develop. Anything was OK provided it made a fast buck/titilating headline. The fact that it was NOTW/Northern Rock/HBOS that got caught doesn't fail to hide the endemic rot that exists in their respective sectors.

And that rot is the concentration of ownership in far too few hands. Like the banks the media moguls needs their wings clipped and their vast mutli companied organisations split up. Far from new complaints regulation, what the media needs is a competition commission with teeth - one that forces them to be split up and allows for a broader range of ownership.

Lib Dem MPs need to take the lead on this - firstly by voting to stop the full merger of News Corp and BSkyB and secondly by pursuing proper media ownership laws in this country.

Sadly, if the lack of progress on splitting up the banks is anything to go by, I fear that a pale compromise will be foisted on us and it will be basically 'business as usual' for the media - just as it is for the banks.