I watched the statement made by Home Secretry, Teresa May, in the House of Commons about the involvement of Tory media chief Andy Coulson with the phone tapping scandal which happened a little while back. I also watched the concerted attack by NoLab politicians to get the government to hold an enquiry into the affair.
Her oft repeated reply was purely that this was a police matter and if new evidence came to light then they would reopen the enquiry. If the words of the NoLab MPs are to believed the original so called enquiry was a pretty sketchy affair and most of the muck was swept under the carpet.
Now the New York Times has entered the fray claiming that this was a large operation led by Coulson on behalf of News International (The Sun and News of the World) aimed generally at leading politicians. There are also suggestions from other blogs that in this case the police knew what News International was doing and turned a blind eye. The problem is that the New York Times is apparently refusing to release the evidence that it has so the police can legitimately claim that no new evidence is available.
I'm afraid this is not good enough. If Andy Coulson was leading an operation to tap phones and I know from my past life that it would have to be a major operation then the police are obliged to investigate. The longer they hesitate the more the public perception will be that they are concealing something that stinks to high heaven.
The relationship between the Politicians, the Police and the Public in this country is sinking ever deeper into the mire. The longer the police delay any action the more it will appear that they have something to conceal. News International can risk having a dodgy reputation but the police cannot.
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