DEM not gonna CON dis NATION: Rolling UK politics in the short-lived Cleggeron era

well..

Moving on!

What about old Gordon 'Bonkers' Brown then? Bear with a sore head or what?

i actually feel for gordon brown but it's just sad that standing in the back of the commons reading out old newspaper articles about his premiership is pretty much how people expected it to pan out for him

It was amusing that it was all "A good day for the House of Commons... HYEAH... HYEAH!" "I think the degree of consensus shown in the House has been most commendable... HYEAH... HYEAH!" "I hope we have regained some of the public's respect... HYEAH... HYEAH!" The Gordy comes along with his hobnail boots and is like, "Here, gerrit up ye, ye Tory cunts!"

Friend whose uncle is something in the Scottish Labour Party said yesterday that Brown is right to be angry and the stalky hacking is worse than reported.

This whole Neil Wallis thing is fucking nuts.

Scotland Yard have admitted they employed Neil Wallis, the former executive at the News of the World who was arrested today in the phone hacking inquiry, as an adviser to the commissioner until September of last year, Vikram Dodd, our crime correspondent, reports.

Wallis was employed to advise Sir Paul Stephenson and John Yates on a part-time basis from October 2009 to September 2010. During this time Scotland Yard said there was no need to reopen the phone hacking investigation, a decision made by Yates, despite allegations in the Guardian that the first police investigation into the scandal had been inadequate.

Wallis joined the News of the World from in 2003 as deputy to then editor Andy Coulson. In mid-2007 he became executive editor and left the News International title in 2009.

Police say he supplied "strategic communications advice", and the Met said his company was chosen because it offered to do the work for the lowest price.

Yes, we certainly are all in this together!

He may be an undeniably massive cunt who deserves to die in a fire, but remember last year when it came out that John Terry found a tracking device on his car? I wonder which newspaper put it there etc etc.

Tradition...tradition!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14160709

And here we go:

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation will probe allegations that Rupert Murdoch's News Corp hacked into the phone records of victims of the Sept. 11, 2011, attacks on the United States, the agency said on Thursday.

"We're looking into allegations raised by the letter by Peter King yesterday," said an FBI source, asking not to be identified.

King, a Republican lawmaker from New York, had called for the investigation.

The Telegraph, based on its 19.52 post, hasn't cottoned on yet about King's, shall we say, interesting past given the IRA...

what's that now?

Quick precis

News International is planning to book advertising space for a full page apology in a range of national newspapers over the weekend as the publisher seeks to draw a line under the News of the World phone-hacking scandal and start the slow process of rebuilding its tarnished image.

The publisher of the Times, Sunday Times and Sun has also tentatively sounded out advertiser reaction to launching the Sun on Sunday on 7 August, the weekend before the start of the Premier League season, when the now defunct News of the World traditionally put out a bumper issue.

"We're sorry we got caught."

Rupert Murdoch, ladies and gentlemen:

"I'll get over it. I'm tired."

No mention in that one of emerging questions about the Wall St. Journal's own topcats (but surely he checked in with WSJ reporters to reassure them, how thoughtful). Four Demo senators also requested the FBI's investigation, which has now commenced, though very professionally hush-hush (so far). Be interesting to see if any of Peter King's fellow Crazytown colleagues will follow his possible lapse into lucidity, or will Rush warn them off (does he consider himself a rival of Rupert's? Or the enemy of my enemy etc? Might be too bad Beck has left Fox, although his defense of Rupert might not have had the desired effect, if he'd even bothered, in the last year or so). the xp mention of James Murdoch possibly violating Uncle Sam's Corrupt Foreigh Practices Act (may not be exact name) could lead to re-examination of Murdoch's American business licenses, for inst by FCC, re "fit and proper"clause (seldom invoked, though.) Latebreaking: Rupert may als oface probes Down Under.

lol at the idea of the FCC ever acting on anything other than enriching the current crop of broadcasters

uh somehow the UK and US politics threads got switched around

In that vein: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/14/hacking-murdoch-paid-us-lobbyists

This whole Neil Wallis thing is fucking nuts.

― dog latrine (NickB), Thursday, July 14, 2011 4:59 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

yeah add that to andy hayman becoming an NI columnist propagandizing for the met and, well, shit.

Brooks has resigned.

no sword handy for her to fall on?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/phone-hacking/8639163/Phone-Hacking-Rupert-Murdochs-daugher-in-furious-attack-on-Rebekah-Brooks.html

hmmmm

r b rebekah brooks shd do the decent thing and spread shit everywhere

yeah well obv she is now totally off the Murdoch pay-roll and will in no way continue to be supported by him

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/blog/2011/jul/15/phone-hacking-live-coverage

Maybe there's a good position opening up at the Prime Minister's office.

r b rebekah brooks shd do the decent thing and spread shit everywhere

anticipating this, esp if she left amid elisabeth-induced ~rancour~

i think elisabeth isn't taken v seriously within or outside the company.

brooks taking people out on the way down is too much to hope for. but let us pray.

not her style

but you have to wonder - why didn't this happen a week ago? thus presumably saving NOTW?

she apparently tweeted that "this time" her resignation "was accepted"

yeah the nominal story is that she offered to resign last week and they turned it down, but this week they accepted. obviously they are all liars, but that doesn't seem crazy.

why not?

oh that they are all liars doesn't seem crazy? no, no it doesn't. i just wonder what they're lying about exactly.

still plumping for a "kill NOTW before the police get their hands on our EXPLOSIVE SECRETS" angle

She says "I" 14 times in her resignation letter

so?

oh that they are all liars doesn't seem crazy? no, no it doesn't. i just wonder what they're lying about exactly.

― 40% chill and 100% negative (Tracer Hand), Friday, July 15, 2011 10:41 AM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

no i mean the nominal story seems plausible.

newscorp was clearly blindsided by how far this has gone. i think they were hoping it would blow over or that closing notw would do the job or something.

yeah they've never looked in control of this, every act feels like a flailing damage limitation effort

yeah, this matt wells thing is otm

A problem that News Corporation has faced throughout this saga is its inability to get on the front foot. Rebekah Brooks's resignation should have been accepted when she first apparently offered it, a week ago. James and Rupert Murdoch should have accepted the invitation to appear in front of the select committee when it was first issued, rather than have to be served a summons parliamentary officials. News Corp is still focused on sorting out a problem in the UK when the storm clouds are gathering around Les Hinton in the US. The FBI has just launched a criminal investigation and Democrat senators are champing at the bit.

Giles Coren: "I like Rebekah Brooks. She's a good person, and i'm sad that she's gone. And I don't give a flying fuck what Twitter thinks."

Twat

his sister's so lovely too

it's hard to believe that even as of last week they weren't grokking the depth of public outrage, but i after something blows over five, six times, you sort of expect it to blow over again

tbf i don't care what twitter thinks.

seems concievable to me that that extra week of Brooks' employment might have been used well behind closed doors, ie the Murdochs hashing out terms where she wouldn't be likely to spill beans/drop NI in it further still

might prove to be the opposite, granted

all this talk of a "desire to remain on the bridge" just makes me think of

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii293/Thee_DG/twok0031.jpg

nah i fully assume this is a tactical resignation and she's still in the inner circle

I'm paranoid so I'm convinced that Cameron + the Tories are in contact with News Corp and there's some manoeuvring to and fro going on here.