29 November 2006

Ultimate responsibility

The BBC reports:
The royal editor of the News of the World has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to intercept voicemail messages.
Clive Goodman, 48, from London, was arrested after claims by the Prince of Wales's household of security breaches...
News of the World editor Andy Coulson, said he apologised "unreservedly" on behalf of the newspaper to Prince William and Prince Harry, Paddy Harverson, Helen Asprey and Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton "for the distress caused by this invasion into their privacy".
In a statement, he said: "As the editor of the newspaper, I take ultimate responsibility for the conduct of my reporters.
"Clive Goodman's actions were entirely wrong and I have put in place measures to ensure that they will not be repeated by any member of my staff."

So what, exactly, does taking 'ultimate responsibility' mean? A member of his staff has pleaded guilty to committing a crime. Is Mr Coulson inviting prosecution as an accessory? Presumably not. Will he then resign for being ultimately responsible for this disgraceful conduct by a member of his staff? Again, presumably not. It seems to mean nothing more than issuing apologies and ensuring (maybe) that it will not happen again. This is a curious definition of 'ultimate responsibility'. But, then, we are talking about the editor of The News of the World.

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