After the news that there won’t be a new police investigation last night, the second thing the Tories feared most hasn’t happened either: neither the Guardian nor any other outlet has anything to further implicate Andy Coulson in the phone-hacking scandal this morning. Indeed, the Guardian’s main story concerns how a private investigator working for the NotW collected phone messages from Sir Alex Ferguson and Alan Shearer, among others. That deepens the media controversy, but hardly fuels the political controversy which was trying to burst into flames yesterday.
I should stress – as I did in a comment yesterday – that I think phone-hacking is a disgraceful practice. But the fact remains that, unless more revelations emerge, the case against Coulson has barely progressed since he resigned the editorship of the NotW in January 2007.
Get Britain's best politics newsletters
Register to get The Spectator's insight and opinion straight to your inbox. You can then read two free articles each week.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in