Andy Coulson, Tory Party director of communications, is now likely to face a police interview after pressure mounts following a New York Times article which claimed an earlier investigation was cut short due to the assumed invulnerability and power of Murdoch’s newspaper group. A further inquiry has now been announced in which Ross Hall, the man who allegedly transcribed numerous voicemail messages from hacked phones, will also be interviewed. The pressure, relentlessly led by The Guardian and Observer, now seems greater than ever. So is Coulson in any position to advise on other government crises and issues when his own makes the headlines?
It seems a very tight position for Coulson. No sooner had he dealt with William Hague sharing hotel rooms with his ministerial aide Christopher Myers, than he returns to manage his own, very big issue. The official line was that it was Hague’s idea to divert media attention from rumours of his gay affair by opening up about his wife’s miscarriages, not Coulson’s. However, as director of communications, would this not have been managed by Coulson? And if you’re really cynical, could this huge, front-page story have been broken to help distract from the phone hacking story?
Coulson’s credibility is crumbling in the press, and denial is not always a lasting defence. The revelations about the Hagues’ very sad miscarriage ordeal formed rather a big sledgehammer to crack what might seem a relatively small nut, and such a huge statement as Hague made would seem perhaps a little overblown if there really was nothing going on.
If we’re honest about this, the public really doesn’t have a right to know about Hague’s private life. He is a remarkably talented politician and some say, the mastermind behind the ‘New Conservatives’. Who he shares hotel rooms with hasn’t seemed to have affected his competency in the past.
Coulson is another matter however. Tapping into phones and publishing the findings through illegal, intrusive practices is not only odious but an offence on our democratic values. We can hope that through mounting pressure, the truth will out, whatever it may be.
Tags: Andy Coulson, Conservatives, News of the World, The Guardian