I’ve learned that News International CEO Rebekah Brooks will not now be appearing in front of the House of Commons Culture Media Sport Committee to answer direct questions about the News of the World’s widely reported criminal phone hacking activities.
          This is bad news, particularly when the committee has shown commendable determination in trying to extract the truth from the paper about who in that organisation – management and hacks – knew what had happened, who sanctioned it and whether or not, as many suspect, it was endemic.
          Some cynics may see a connection between the facts that committee chairman, John Whittingdale is a Conservative, and his party’s Central Office, through the Machiavellian activities of their chief press officer and former Screws editor, Andy Coulson, have come to an understanding with News International, by which the Sun newspaper has switched allegiance from Brown to Cameron (for all the help that will be), in return for who knows what?
          This may lead the cynics to think there has been encouragement not to put pressure on Brooks to come and see the committee.
          I don’t think so, but the committee really has the Screws on the run and it would be a disatrous waste of their efforts, having got this far, they gave up now. We most of us understand that a stage may be reached in circumstances like this when it is so troublesome and difficult to extract the truth, that crimes go uninvestigated and unpunished – like those of the perpetrators of the massive Lloyds scam 30 years ago, or the activities of some bankers just two years ago. But to let a major British media group get away with blatantly breaking the law would be unforgivable. Sadly, and for myserious reasons, the Met are very reluctant to pursue further investigations.  

Brooks, the “Testarossa” (like the motor, highly tuned and temperamental) – is the ultimate UK boss of the Times, the Sunday Times, the News of the Screws and the Sun, and she’s a busy woman.
          Perhaps she won’t come, not because they haven’t asked her quite firmly enough, but because she’s too frightened of what she might say. Even her slipperiest, hardest-nosed, most rhino-skinned Screws execs tripped themselves up as they ducked and dived their way around the truth in the face of some serious probing from committee members Adam Price and Paul Farrelly.
          Or perhaps the committee think she’ll do as her underlings have done, and block every question with a ‘don’t know’ or a ‘can’t remember’.
          They could be right, and another session could be a waste of time. Certainly the written answers she’s already submitted are evasive and fail entirely to satisfy the questions put to her. (see yesterday’s blog)

It’s clear that crimes were being knowingly committed and it is out of the question that the two jailed scapegoats, Clive Goodman and Glen Mulcaire, were the only people who knew what was going on. John Whittingdale and his committee must continue to pursue her relentlessly until they have genuine, satisfactory answers and the names of the culprits.

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