The difference between the popular press and the thinking-person’s press could not have been demonstrated more clearly than it was last Tuesday in evidence given to the House of Commons Culture Media Sport Committee in the Inquiry into Press Standards.

The Tabloids, Red Tops and Shag Rags were represented by little Colin Myler, Scouser and former editor of the Liverpool Catholic Pictorial (I mention this only to demonstrate how far the man’s standards have fallen) who is now editor of the News of the Screws, the nadir of British journalism. At his side was the legal artful dodger, Tom Crone who as the paper’s busy in-house lawyer for a quarter of a century has been ducking writs issued by members of the public whose lives it has set out to destroy. Myler thinks that the public has no fundamental right to privacy. The News of the World had a string of successful actions brought against it last year for invasion of privacy – and not a word of remorse did Myler express for the damage they caused the victims.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Next Tuesday (May 5th) News of the World editor, little Colin Myler is summoned to give evidence to the Culture Media Sport Committee Inquiry into Press Standards, Privacy & Libel.

Last week they had the Mail’s Paul Dacre and this week, Peter Hill from the Express, in fine displays of obfuscation, filibustering, disingenuousness and downright lying. (Did Dacre really not know that his paper was the first, cruelly, to reveal the whereabouts of much traumatised Elisabeth Fritzl? I don’t think so. Do you?)

Little Colin is not as muscular and perhaps a tad more troubled by his Catholic conscience than the hard-hearted Mail and Express men. Lucky for him, Tom Crone, leading in-house lawyer to the Wapping hackery is coming along to Westminster, too, to hold his hand, and no doubt, jump in to stifle him if he feels a sudden rush of truth coming on, or to protect him if things get too tough.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Max Mosley is suing the Screws for invading his privacy and fabricating a ‘Nazi’ element to his sexual activities. With their brazen disregard for public standards, they released their secretly filmed tape of events – which bore not a lot of resemblance to the story in the paper – on their pornographic “family” website.

Tom Crone, legal boss at the News of the Screws, says that the paper believes a healthy society should respect the public’s right to know “legitimate facts about the behaviour and activities of public figures and leaders.

Popularity: 11% [?]