Asleep on the Job
The press and the police are the main subjects of scorn and ridicule - in the still unfolding phone hacking scandal.
Westminster MPs at last have a story bigger than their own 'expenses scandal' - and are happy to gang up on suspected wrongdoers - because it keeps them out of the public spotlight.
But where were our MPs when the UK Information Commissioner reported - in 2006 - that the national press were routinely abusing the country's data protection legislation?
The UK Information Commissioner is independent authority - separate from the Scottish Information Commissioner - and was set up to:
Now the private detective in question was used by many newspapers - not just News of the World or News International - in fact NOTW and NI were not even the biggest offenders.
Highlighted below are the number of times the Information Commissioner was able to identify a 'breach' by a particular newspaper - along with the number of journalists involved at each newspaper.
Daily Mail - 952 breaches and 58 journalists
Sunday People - 802 and 50
Daily Mirror - 681 and 45
Mail on Sunday - 266 and 33
News of the World - 228 and 23
Sunday Mirror - 143 and 25
Evening Standard - 130 and 1
The Observer - 103 and 4
Daily Express - 36 and 7
The Sun - 24 and 4
The Sunday Times - 4 and 1
The Times - 2 and 1
Now the UK Information Commissioner reports to the Westminster Parliament.
But for the life of me I can't remember our MPs making a big fuss in 2006 - by standing up for the rights of the public - and demanding that heads should roll.
No, the plain fact is that our MPs were asleep on the job - and failed to act at the time.
The reason being that they have all been prepared to play along with the press - when it suits their personal or party interests - but our MPs most definitely don't have clean hands.
Westminster MPs at last have a story bigger than their own 'expenses scandal' - and are happy to gang up on suspected wrongdoers - because it keeps them out of the public spotlight.
But where were our MPs when the UK Information Commissioner reported - in 2006 - that the national press were routinely abusing the country's data protection legislation?
The UK Information Commissioner is independent authority - separate from the Scottish Information Commissioner - and was set up to:
- uphold information rights in the public interest
- promote openness by public bodies
- promote data privacy for individuals
Now the private detective in question was used by many newspapers - not just News of the World or News International - in fact NOTW and NI were not even the biggest offenders.
Highlighted below are the number of times the Information Commissioner was able to identify a 'breach' by a particular newspaper - along with the number of journalists involved at each newspaper.
Daily Mail - 952 breaches and 58 journalists
Sunday People - 802 and 50
Daily Mirror - 681 and 45
Mail on Sunday - 266 and 33
News of the World - 228 and 23
Sunday Mirror - 143 and 25
Evening Standard - 130 and 1
The Observer - 103 and 4
Daily Express - 36 and 7
The Sun - 24 and 4
The Sunday Times - 4 and 1
The Times - 2 and 1
Now the UK Information Commissioner reports to the Westminster Parliament.
But for the life of me I can't remember our MPs making a big fuss in 2006 - by standing up for the rights of the public - and demanding that heads should roll.
No, the plain fact is that our MPs were asleep on the job - and failed to act at the time.
The reason being that they have all been prepared to play along with the press - when it suits their personal or party interests - but our MPs most definitely don't have clean hands.
