David Cameron

I have recently been a critic of David Cameron so I was very watchful about his handling of the current News International crisis. To be fair he has done exactly what he should have done so I must give him credit.

He has fronted up! He has admitted his failings over the appointment of Andy Coulson and tried to rectify them. He has appointed a judge led enquiry to investigate the hacking accusations...so we are on the right lines.

I still have questions. In the pre-Blair days Civil Servants used to advise the PM. We all remember the hilarious 'Yes Prime Minister' series which highlighted the battle between the amateur politicians and the professional Civil Servants.

Tony Blair (as ever) broke the mould when he politicised the Civil Service and appointed Special Advisors (SPADS) to replace the experienced (and neutral) Civil Servants. Nobody has ever reversed this trend. None of our mainstream politicians has ever corrected this misadventure.

So David Cameron appointed Andy Coulson and Ed Miliband appointed Tom Baldwin both of whom are tabloid journalists. These party leaders shout at each other over the Despatch Box but they are both culpable. They employ these journalists on enormous salaries because they are familiar with the sewer. They swim with the sharks. Until we abolish the Blair culture of the SPAD  (Alistair Campbell) and revert to the professional Civil Servant (if we can find one today) then none of these politicians can ever claim to be clean. After all they support the EU which is still the worst example of corruption in our entire history!