Get to the Point

Ian Hislop - editor of Private Eye and ever present on Have I Got News For You (HIGNFY) - is fast becoming a national treasure.

Now I know it's easy - in one sense - to always be making fun of people, knocking things down instead of building them up - especially politicians and the great and good.

But the fact of life is that there's always lot of people and institutions - that need taken down a peg or two - sometimes more.

Imagine what life would be like in the UK - of politicians and the like were all powerful - capable of ignoring and brushing aside public criticism of their actions.

Satire is not a uniquely British phenomenon or sense of humour - its impact is felt far and wide in countries from very different backgrounds such as America and Russia.

As far as I can tell satire is banned - or goes underground - only in repressive, totalitarian regimes - because such humour undermines authority by making fun of those hell bent on controlling other people's lives.

So satire is not just for laughs - it has a serious purpose - and Ian Hislop showed his serious side yesterday in his evidence to the Leveson Inquiry - on phone hacking and ethical standards in the press.

Ian Hislop's essential message was that new laws are not needed to govern the press - since  bad practices such as phone hacking or paying police officers and being in contempt of court - already contravene existing laws.

Before going on to say that the Leveson Inquiry should really examine why these laws have not been rigorously enforced - in recent years.

Now I don't know a single serious person who disagrees with that point of view - there seems to be widespread support for reforming and giving new, stronger powers to the Press Complaints Commission (PCC).

Seems to me the Leveson Inquiry will not learn much more by sitting and listening to evidence for another 12 months - when it could me reporting its finding known and making sensible recommendations for change - to the UK government and wider public.