Toby Young suffers from Status Anxiety
Forgive me if I don’t join in the orgy of sanctimony surrounding the News of the World. If any evidence is uncovered that proves a member of the paper’s staff hacked into Milly Dowler’s phone and deleted her voicemail messages, then, yes, he or she should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. But to describe such behaviour as ‘shocking’ is to reveal an astonishing ignorance about the tabloid profession. It’s a bit like claiming to be ‘shocked’ when a celebrity is caught cheating on his wife or a politician is caught lying through his teeth.
The reason phone-hacking was, until recently, such an established tool of the Fleet Street trade — and I’m talking about every red-top, not just the News of the World — is because a good tabloid journalist will stop at nothing in pursuit of a story.
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