Spectator letters: Press regulation, heroic Bulgarians and the case for Scotch on the rocks

Beyond the law

Sir: In your leading article of 28 June you make the point that the hacking trial demonstrates why political oversight of press regulation, not press regulation by politicians, would be an unnecessary ‘draconian step’ because ‘hacking is already against the law’. Later you compare the illegal but honourable behaviour of Andy Coulson with that of Damian McBride, who ‘broke no law but behaved criminally’. In doing so you weaken the earlier argument.

Regulation of the press should not solely be focused on illegal activity; rather it is to ensure that the press does not behave in a way analogous to that you criticise McBride for. In the case of the Chris Jeffries, for example, aside from the contempt of court fines imposed on the Daily Mirror and the Sun and the libel damages paid by eight newspapers, there were many aspects of his treatment where the press broke no law but behaved in a way that many viewed as criminal.