For the umpteenth time, David Cameron failed to fully apologise for brining the poison of Andy Coulson into Downing Street, in a Commons debate on phone hacking.
For the umpteenth time, the prime minister failed to fully apologise for brining the poison of Andy Coulson into Downing Street, defending his former communications chief and refusing to answer all Ed Miliband’s questions – dismissing concerns about Coulson as “feeble conspiracy theories”.
He did, however, raise even more questions by claiming that “in hindsight” he would not have hired Coulson – despite all the evidence about Coulson’s past being out there at the time, and despite several of his inner circle knowing all the facts.
It’s not about “hindsight”; had he not stuck his fingers in his ears and failed to ask the right questions, he’d have known exactly the kind of character he was employing.
Mr Cameron had five chances to act on specific information that would surely have led him to change his mind on Coulson:
• The Guardian told his Chief of Staff Ed Llewellyn Coulson had hired a convicted criminal at the News of the World;
• In May 2010, his deputy Nick Clegg warned him about Coulson;
• The News York Times investigation was enough for the Metropolitan Police to reopen enquiries, resulting in Neil Wallis – Coulson’s deputy at the NotW – being fired by the Met;
• John Yates offered to brief the prime minister via Mr Llewellyn; and
• In October, Mr Llewellyn was approached by the Guardian with serious evidence about Coulson.
Every single opportunity was missed.
Questions were also raised about whether Mr Cameron had discussed the BSkyB bid in any of his vast array of meetings with News International executives, while several of his loyal backbenchers, on message and on cue, tried to deflect attention from the scandal by claiming there were other, more important issues going on.
It is this issue, however, which hangs heaviest over Mr Cameron, and if the odds are to be believed, it’s this issue that’ll bury him.
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28 Responses to “Yet again, Cameron fails to say sorry over Coulson”
Anon E Mouse
Why would he say sorry when Coulson hasn’t been shown to have done anything wrong? Innocent until proven guilty perhaps?
Is Miliband going to apologise for employing (still) News International’s Tom Baldwin?
Thought not.
Is Gordon Brown going to apologise for being big buddies with Rupert Murdoch?
Thought not.
Have you stopped watching BSkyB yet Shamik Das?
Thought not…
13eastie
Shamik,
A million Iraqi’s are reckoned to have died subsequent to the allied invasion in which the UK partook on the basis false claims of WMD’s and 45-minute-warnings made by Alastair Campbell.
Thousands of Britons have also lost loved once as a direct consequence of this.
When is Blair going to “say sorry” for his choice of press secretary?
Anon E Mouse
Does anyone know if Leon Wolfson is on a secret mission today because I’m missing his New Labour support of the Iraq War in respect of 13eastie’s comment above.
Where are you Leon?
Ed's Talking Balls
Parti pris!
For a more thoughtful discussion of Cameron’s performance today and the political implications of the phone hacking saga in general, I would recommend the following (that is, if you have a spare seven minutes):
http://playpolitical.typepad.com/uk_conservative/2011/07/video-timmontgomerie-and-kevin_maguire-discuss-camerons-performance-on-hacking.html
Michael
Yet again, Cameron fails to say sorry over Coulson l Left Foot Forward – http://j.mp/pKKd6T