The cascade of News of the World stories has, this morning, become a deluge. On top of
last night’s Andy Coulson news — which, as George Eaton points out, really oughtn’t be that surprising — we have the Indepedent claiming that Rebekah Brooks
personally “commissioned searches” from one of the private investigators tangled
up in the Milly Dowler affair. The Guardian reveals that Cabinet ministers are minded to establish a
full review into both ownership and regulation of the media. And the Telegraph suggests that the bereaved families of those killed in the 7 July bombing may have had their phones targeted. “It is
thought that journalists were seeking to access voice messages left on family members’ phones as they desperately waited for information about their loved ones in the aftermath of the
bombings in 2005,” says that report. “It is unclear if they were aware at that stage that their relatives had died in the bombings.”
There are, of course, two particular moments for Westminster to have its say today: PMQs and a subsequent three-hour debate in the Commons. During both, it’s worth looking out for how much is made of David Cameron’s ties with Coulson and News International, as well as whether any coalition backbenchers join their Labour counterparts in pushing for a public inquiry. And let us hope, in the meantime, that our politicians treat this horrible matter with the soberness it deserves.
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