A damning verdict and where next

Making the headlines this morning is the verdict of the Commons culture committee on the News of the World's phone tapping which the Guardian says

News International could face a judicial inquiry after a highly critical parliamentary report today accuses senior executives at its top-selling newspaper of concealing the truth about the extent of illegal phone hacking by its journalists.

NoW executives are accused of having "collective amnesia" and of"deliberate obfuscation" whilst Scotland yard should have

have broadened its original investigation in 2006, and not just focused on Clive Goodman, the NoW's royal reporter.

The committee claimed that some of the celebrities involved might well have had their silence bought and whilst New International is adamant that the select committee had been hijacked by MP's with a political agenda,there is no doubt that the News of the World's activities have gone a lot further than simply Clive Goodman.

Surely then the spotlight will once again fall on Andy Coulson who jumped ship when this story first broke to join the Tories.

FT hacks Coulson

Alex Barker has a little fun over the FT's Westminster Blog

“Hi Andy it’s Sue. The Guardian have called again. I told him you had no comment. But he says he’s going to stand outside CCHQ and call every hour until you say something. Just thought you should know.”

“Andy it’s me. DON’T forget the milk on your way home. And remember it’s no Blackberry night tonight. Luv ya Peachy.”

“Rupert here. You’d better call.”

“Hello Andy it’s Paul Livers calling from C-Rap PR. Hope you’re sitting down ’cause we’ve got a Grrreat story for your Bizarre column….”

“Andy, look, I’ve seen the photos of Dave and, alright, they’re not the most flattering. But I don’t see what you think I could have done. I’m not bloody watching over the shoulder of every picture editor in this place. And the idea that I’m going to order them to use only pictures of his left hand side…look, give just give us a call. I’m around this evening.”

“Andy, it’s Peter here. The Telegraph are damn well at it again. They’re obsessed with this one blasted claim I made four years ago, really very boring, the wife insisted on getting the damn thing. I can’t believe it will make a story, it’s dashed dull and the fees office didn’t even give me the money for it. But, just in case, it might be worth me talking you through it.”

Run and run and run and run

I haven't had chance as yet to blog about Nick Davies scoop in the Guardian this morning.

According to former Sunday Times editor Andrew Neil,this is going to run and run and writes that

If, as the Guardian claims, between 2,000 and 3,000 people were targeted and had their privacy breached in various ways, then some of the names already mentioned could get together to mount a multi-million pound class action against the Murdoch company. Just starting that process would almost certainly unseal the documents. Then more than the cat would be out of the bag ... and the potential damages unlimited.

The Spectator's James Forsyth meanwhile looks at David Cameron as he is stuck in a pincer movement between two extremes of journalism

David Cameron finds himself caught up in a war between two media tribes following the revelations about the phone hacking at the News of the World during Andy Coulson’s editorship. On the one side, there’s The Guardian—whose scoop it was—and the BBC; for the BBC this episode is a chance to both make an ideological point against tabloid journalism and the Murdoch press as well as gain some revenge for the fun that The Sun and The Times had with the BBC’s expenses. On the other is News International with other newspapers that have used similar methods looking nervously on from the sidelines.