20 July 2011

No smoking gun

Are we any clearer about who knew what and when? Or how it mattered? Probably not. But hey it was gratifying to see the old man and the robot put through their paces, even if the chronology and the lines of responsibility have become hopelessly blurred (which was no doubt the intention on the part of the Murdochs). But no-one can doubt that there was dirty work at the crossroads.

And our MPs didn’t let us down, although only Mr Watson seemed to have a firm grip of what was going on. (Thankfully, we were spared the potential embarrassment of a contribution from Cathy Jamieson.) As for Keith Vaz, one can only marvel at his sheer sleekitness.

Freedland in The Guardian summed it up quite well:
Most dramatists would be happy with a plot that unmasked skulduggery inside the world's most powerful media organisation. That would be plenty. But this one has taken in the Metropolitan police, felling the commissioner and one of his most senior lieutenants, and seems to be getting ever closer to Downing Street. Resignations that, if they had come singly would have dominated the news for a week, have come in clusters, with three of the biggest last weekend. The pace has been dizzying.
And what are we to make of the e-mail from Cameron’s chief of staff and Etonian pal, Ed Llewellyn (yet another Ed in the saga), to Yates of the Yard, in which he said:
"On the other matters that have caught your attention this week, assuming we are thinking of the same thing, I am sure you will understand that we will want to be able to be entirely clear, for your sake and ours, that we have not been in contact with you about this subject.
"So I don't think it would really be appropriate for the PM, or anyone else at No 10, to discuss this issue with you, and would be grateful if it were not raised, please.
Too damn clever for his own good, that lad.

Then we have all these policemen resigning with their intact integrities, even though like modern-day Macavities, they were never quite at the scene of the crimes. I wonder what DI Regan would have made of it.

Today the focus will move on to the House of Commons, where the beleaguered Mr Cameron will attempt to repel boarders once again. But who knows what twists and turns lie in wait?


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