And on it goes.....

The internet and satellite TV mean I have been able to watch the UK phone hacking scandal unravel blow by blow. It really is remarkable technology and of course it is this same technology that is at the centre of this sorry tale. I watched the appearances before  parliamentary committees of the senior police officers and the Murdochs live on the BBC TV. I gave up on Rebecca Brooks due to tiredness. All I can remember is her hair - as we would say in London, what a Barnet! I can follow events on The Guardian's website which has an excellent rolling blog and I have always had respect for The Telegraph's journalism so I dip in there and  also The New York Times which has broken important parts of the story. I can even tune into BBC Radio 4 which really is Nirvana! I am in small town Thailand, about 100 km west of Bangkok and I am as well informed here as I would be if I was in London itself.

It seems that the real problem here is that eleventh commandment has been broken: thou shalt not get caught! That arguably is the most important commandment of the lot in so far as public life is concerned and God help you if are caught. So what I have been watching really is the high and mighty of British public life performing a damage limitation act. I don't really have any problems with the Murdochs. I was quite impressed by Rupert's performance even at 80 years old, and hearing him assuredly tap his finger on the table as he spoke made me think of what a formidable operator he would have been in his day. I have difficulties with James Murdoch's transatlantic tones; not a real American accent, affected and insincere. I was amused to learn that Murdoch Jnr is renowned for his temper: not a trace of it on show in front of the cameras. And I would love to work in a company where £1 million settlements are almost seen as petty cash amounts and don't need authorisation or scrutiny higher up the chain. I suspect we will  learn  a lot more about News International skulduggery in the coming months.

If I was a police officer I would couch any failings in the language of operational priorities and the fight against terrorism: this makes it rather difficult to get excited about celebrity phone-hacking. I am pretty sure they were complicit with News International. Yates of the Yard had me laughing when he said he was simply a "post box" when he forwards an application to Scotland Yard's Human Resources from the Deputy Editor of the Sun's daughter. If so why didn't the candidate use any of the other post boxes, like the ones which are painted red and have "LETTERS" embossed in big bold letters on their outsides? Or even an electronic post-box? Clearly if it comes to HR via a senior manager it will be given preferential treatment and to suggest otherwise is disingenuous. I am prepared to believe Yates of the Yard was a decent cop because his record shows he has pursued a lot of bent cops in his time. But I reckon they all got it wrong here and probably thought they were home and hosed.

David Cameron really troubles me. It has emerged that Andy Coulson was only given cursory vetting both on his appointment to Conservative Central Office and also in respect of his job as PM's most important media advisor. Now in both instances it is not the case that Andy applies for these jobs as advertised and is then put through an assessment process similar to the other candidates. In both instances there were no other candidates. Coulson was sought out for these positions and in fact he was Cameron's man for both jobs. Dave wanted this guy presumably because he thought he was the top man. There surely has to be a connection between Cameron's aspirations in this respect and his decision to downgrade the vetting process. In other words Cameron must have known Coulson would not be cleared if full vetting took place. So to circumvent this Cameron authorised a basic security check and got his man. So I don't believe Cameron is in the clear on this issue. In fact I don't really think Cameron can recover from this. I think the damage has been done and he will simply be an ineffective Prime Minister.

This throws up the prospect of what damage Coulson can do to his former employers in the event he is the subject of criminal proceedings and needs to defend himself. I suspect the solution there will be not to prosecute him on the basis of insufficient evidence. We shall see. It's all great stuff and I sense we are only just getting started now.

Are you sweating Dave?

No need to blog when Dave's very own people can be as to the point and on the money as this in the Daily Jackboot. They are dropping like flies, the high and mighty. The Commissioner of the Met simply had to go. Truly frightening that British politicos and police can be so easily controlled and manipulated. They nearly got away with it too........

What news from over Yonder?

The political situation in the UK is truly mind-boggling. How can the mother of parliaments have been taken over so effectively by News International? What do David Cameron and Rebekah Brooks discuss when they go horse-riding?

While living in Thailand and Asia it is easy to be critical of governments whose ministers in many instances are crooked. It’s simply the way it is here and I think most people accept this. I often point to the crucial role the press in the first world play in keeping the three other estates, the executive, the judiciary and the legislature in line in the traditional model of western democratic government. It couldn’t happen in the West because we have a free press, is something I hear echoing……..

Of course the part of the press that has persisted with this story has to be applauded for its doggedness and persistence. It’s quite clear that as well as intimidating the leading politicians with the threat of adverse editorial comment, and withdrawal of media support, Murdoch and his minions have also stifled effective police investigations with bribes and threats. It seems to me they nearly got away with it.

I am saddened to learn about murdered Milly Dowling’s parents’ additional suffering, having their hopes raised that the poor teenager was still alive; thanks to hackers in the employ of News International deleting messages on her phone; the Dowlings have only recently been humiliated at the hands of the legal process where they have been made to feel on trial. What must they really feel? It is beyond my imagination.

Equally I am sad for the Brown family that their private grief should be so cynically and needlessly brought into full public view. From what I understand the worst that can be said of Gordon’s personal habits are that he likes to have the boys round to watch the football and rugby on TV and have a few cans and a curry. I don’t doubt that we wouldn’t have been spared the graphic details had he been found to have a few pecadillos.

So Dave hired one of the key players in this sordid business as his media adviser . Enter Andy Coulson, former editor of the News of the Screws and Murdoch über apparatchnik, straight to the centre of the British government. It is beyond belief that the spooks didn’t advise Dave that Andy was a little bit tasty. “I didn’t know how bad Andy really was ……….” Dave decided to show compassion and gave Andy a “second chance”. No doubt you, like me, are hugely relieved that Dave has publicly stated he takes full responsibility for this!

We can all be wise after the event but yet again Dave’s judgement is of deep concern. Dave is the Prime Minister of Great Britain. And Dave has form in this department. Remember Tony Lit, Dave’s choice as the Conservative candidate for the 2007 Ealing Southall by-election, er hem, he had been a member of the party for 10 days when Cameron chose him. Dave told Conservative Central Office to take the proverbial flight with their candidate or else he was offsky. Dave’s inspired leadership prevailed. It was looking good as the campaign developed, fantastic campaign materials coming through the letterbox, Tony Lit family man, Tony Lit fighting crime, Tony Lit tackling drugs and then it all went wrong.  It emerged that Tony Lit had paid £4,800 to attend a Labour fund raiser at which he bid in a charity auction only a matter of a few weeks prior to being selected as a Tory election candidate. Ooooooops! Banana skin! Sounds like a dream candidate! A man of conviction! Labour won a by election which the Tories should have won.

I feel an unending cascade of questions arising from the continuing revelations. Would the result of the last British general election have been different if this story had broken earlier? Is David Cameron really fit to be the Prime Minister? Is this the beginning of Britain’s version of Watergate? What about Tommy Sheridan?

And what about Rebekah Brooks -  überüber-News International apparatchnik? The Digger calls her his number one priority. Dave has said of his riding friend that she should resign. Thanks, Dave and you can take the proverbial flight this Christmas. Rebekah (Bek?!) phoned Brown and told him he they were running the story on the sick boy. She must have known the provenance of the information as editor. To have not known would have been very reckless but criminal nonetheless. She can’t say she was very busy because the story was about the then British PM and if she was too busy to scrutinise the story then she was in the wrong job. I suspect she must have loved phoning Brown. Ultimately did this information enable us to make informed political choices? No it was a naked intrusion into a family's privacy.

So Dave associates with known criminals and criminal suspects and indeed has brought them into the heart of government and includes them as his personal friends. Rupert buys off the boys in blue and they were all busy bringing dear old Blighty back into political orthodoxy and financial solvency following that Brown fellow’s imprudence. No wonder Dave has gone rather quiet and appears to be trying to avoid radar detection.

Enough. I am following this saga as it unfolds and like most I am deeply troubled. What will happen next?  Who really knows but my instinct is this is just a beginning.