Is The Sun going down?

If The Sun is the flagship in Rupert Murdoch’s tabloid fleet, then yesterday, although far from sinking, it took on a little water. At the Leveson Inquiry into press ethics, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Sue Akers of the Met, heading up the investigation into dodgy dealings and proscribed payments, indicated that the scope of the scandal was perhaps more serious than it first seemed. She spoke of a “culture at The Sun of illegal payments”, and “not only to police officers, but a wide range of public officials”.

As admiral of the fleet, if not the whole street, Mr Murdoch was swift to state that the practices described “are ones of the past, and no longer exist at The Sun.” The little-disguised disquiet in the ranks at the paper, caused by the plausibly unexpected editorial co-operation with the investigation, would suggest the flagship is indeed being made shipshape, whether the decks wish to swept or not.

The singer Charlotte Church this week received £300,000 and a public apology following the publication of thirty-three stories in the News of the World, derived from phone-hacking. Speaking outside the High Court, she said “nothing was deemed off limits by those who pursued me and my family, just to make money for a multinational news corporation.” She promised to put the payment towards protecting her family’s privacy in the future, adding; “they are not truly sorry. They are just sorry they got caught.”

News Corporation pulled the plug on The News of the World, through penitence or pragmatism, because it had been publicly discredited. So, if The Sun, the daily newspaper with the largest circulation in the UK, is also proven to have an empire built on pernicious practises, will it retain its readers? As a race, we have feelings, but we’re fickle. Baring a revelation of Milly Dowler proportions, it seems unlikely The Sun will set. Indeed, it’s spawned a satellite. The timing of the Sun on Sunday is brazen if not unexpected. Much mooted, it may yet harness the many that did not nail their colours to another Sunday media mast when the News of the World was scuppered. Adapt or die is the essence of evolutionary survival, and Murdoch can mutate like Madonna when minded to, but hopefully without the need for cone-shaped corsetry.

The Leveson Inquiry has thrown up a necessary dialogue about freedom of the press, and the right to feel at liberty to express oneself and seek the truth. Whilst many in the media represent a potent force in holding our leaders to account, their rights are brought into question by the tendency of others to abuse those freedoms by taking liberties, in which case the process devalues the product. Isn't a pursuit of truth by dishonest means just one oxymoron too far?

A Healthy Summit?

David Cameron’s decision not to invite those bodies representing healthcare professionals who oppose the NHS reforms to today’s summit on the subject is an act of unqualified genius, and I for one am inspired. My colleagues and I face the prospect of being routinely spanked in an inter-office 7-a-side football match on Thursday night, naturally a battle of neo-gladiatorial significance, and now our illustrious leader has unlocked for us the key to victory: don’t invite the opposition!

What possible benefit could it now be to garner the input of the British Medical Association, the Royal College of Nursing, and the Royal College of General Practitioners anyway? They will be charged with delivering the services of course, but have already called for the controversial bill to be binned. Now, if you’re proffering a plethora of unpopular proposals, the last thing you’d like is the adversely affected averting your attention to how much they wish you wouldn’t. Our uncontested victory on Thursday may feel a little hollow, but it’s a rather deep hole that Mr Cameron is digging, still all the better to put those pesky doctors in.

Almost on cue, a study by the London School of Economics released today found that increasing competition between NHS hospitals increases efficiency and eases stress on straining budgets. Of course it does! I saved a small fortune employing the cheapest plumber this side of Siberia, and every one of the last six months the taps have been leaking I’m glad I did. I can’t wait to get him back and ask if he does keyhole surgery as well. Competition is important, because it creates the conditions in which a small company in France can make breast implants from industrial grade silicon, and everyone from Harley Street and downwards laps them up because they are mysteriously cheap, increasing the profit margins and share prices and smug grins from the board of directors. Why on earth would you not want a piece of that?

What, may I ask, is wrong with privatisation anyway? The cost of my train to work has increased by over 80% in four years, my salary hasn’t. But many is the time that I sit on the creatively vandalised platform, as the occasionally functioning public information system taunts me with promises of minor delays, before slapping up “cancelled” and sending me scuttling to the taxi office, knowing I can’t reclaim the cost of my ticket because it’s under a fiver. And I think to myself, this is brilliant, I sure hope they do this with the National Health Service.    

Tibet: An Inconvenient Occupation

A group of passionate protestors chant slogans denouncing the autocratic regime seeking to suppress their freedom of speech, culture and religion. It could be Syria, Libya, or Egypt, and it would, if reported, rightly engender robust diplomatic rhetoric from western democracies, and pressure to secure an illusive United Nations resolution. But what are the chances of chastisement when the aggressor is a permanent member of the UN Security Council?

Chinese security forces have been amassing in western regions of the Sichuan Province, ahead of the Tibetan New Year which begins on February 22^nd. So often a trigger for demonstrations against Chinese occupation, this year the protests are likely to be more potent than previously, with the pending 50 year anniversary of the Tibetan uprising in March. With state restrictions on the movement of foreigners, journalists in particular, it is hard to quantify the numbers involved, yet reports indicate that three Tibetans have set themselves on fire in as many days, making 15 such cases in the last year. The body of the most recent, a 42 year old monk called Sopa, was paraded through the streets, having been reluctantly released after protestors smashed the windows of the police station in Dari, to which he had been taken by officials.

This self-immolation, as it is called, is surely as shocking in nature as many of the routine human rights abuses in nations such as Iran, that elicit regular statements of indignation from whichever Home Secretary is manning the shop. The fact that this mutilation is self-imposed, a desperate act where other forms of expression are discouraged or actively suppressed, speaks to the impotence of a people whose voice has been regularly raised, yet rarely recognised.

China claims to have governed the region for centuries, which is partially true. Since the 7^th century, you could say Tibet has often fallen under Chinese rule, however, it’s fairer to say it did not “fall”, it was pushed, and hard. There has always been an attempt to maintain a cultural and political independence, culminating in the failed Tibetan rebellion, beginning in 1959, that saw the Dalai Lama flee to establish an alternative government in exile. The systematic erosion of Tibetan culture and rights has continued, with violent suppression of resistance to Chinese occupation, notably to the unrest seen in 2008.

With western governments keen to secure trade links with China, as an emerging super-power, the plight of the Tibetan people is an inconvenience, and largely ignored. For such countries, that mask military deployment to safeguard commercial enterprise with claims of humanitarian rationale, the deaf ear turned to the east is to our lasting shame. Tibet will celebrate its New Year come what may, but whether it’s a “happy” one will largely depend on the rest of us.

Send 'Arry In

 In a tale of two Harrys, Mr Redknapp senior was yesterday cleared on charges of tax evasion, while Captain Harry Wales passed his helicopter gunship training with flying colours. Two ginger haired gentlemen overcoming personal challenges, likely to lead to even headier heights of national service.

In the PR coup of the week, Tottenham Hotspur top dog Harry Redknapp walked free from Southwark Crown Court within hours of current England manager Fabio Capello resigning from his post. Flanked by his son Jamie, the bookies favourite to succeed the departing Italian said the trial had been “a nightmare”, and that he was looking forward to putting it all behind him. Heading home to wife Sandra, Redknapp will no doubt have slept more soundly than his current employer, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy. Betting has been suspended, sweating maybe not.

Prince Harry, meanwhile, was being crowned top Co-Pilot Gunner after an 18 month course that has seen the third in line to the throne master the controls of a £46 million helicopter. Apache Force Commander Colonel Neale Moss described the course as “extremely challenging, teaching and testing students in their flying skills, decision-making and mental agility.” Now assigned to 662 Squadron, 3 Regiment Army Air Corps, Captain Wales’ previous deployment to Afghanistan in 2008 was cut short when a media blackout was broken. The Prince has now hastened his chances of returning, a prospect many would find as welcome as veal in a vegan’s vol-au-vent, and this time it seems unlikely his identity would be protected. We may have giggled and grimaced at his antics over the years, but considering the options and resources at his disposal, it speaks to the character of the man that he chooses to put himself in harm’s way, when many of his vintage only look past the end of their own nose if it is to focus on their X-Box.
After the departure of Senior Capello, the FA seems to oddly favour the appointment of a chief who speaks the same language as his charges, it might help. The Italian chose John Terry as the moral cause over which to fall on his sword, a paradox that leaves one wondering just how much else got lost in translation. Nothing that a bit of cockney charm can’t cope with of course, but with England Under 21 Manager Stuart Pearce holding the reigns for the interim, the FA will not hurry to Harry just yet. Apparently, a newly qualified co-pilot gunner will fly months of UK missions before any potential overseas deployment, so on both counts it may still be a little while before they send in the Harrys.

 

Don't Bank On It

Racing driver Sir Jackie Stewart claims Fred Goodwin was been made “a scapegoat”, following his friend being stripped of his knighthood for services to banking. When the Royal Bank of Scotland hit the buffers in 2008, to be publicly propped up to the tune of £45 billion, it could have been little worse if run by a real goat. Of course, bashing the bankers has become fun, fashionable, and a fresh way to let off steam, like roller-discos in the 80s, but without knee-pads. And yet, this de-knighting has been chastised and championed in equal measure. Simon Walker, the Director-General of the Institute of Directors warned that it “politicises the whole honours system”. It is political, and was even before Cash for Honours.

The Chancellor, George Osborne, welcomed the decision by the forfeiture committee, saying that “RBS symbolised everything that went wrong in the economy.” Taking the honours does nothing to negate a repeat of the banking crisis, and successive governments have failed to police any pernicious practices, so it is indeed a purely symbolic gesture. But will it stem the flood of public anger over the pension Mr Goodwin receives, and the bonuses currently up for grabs in a company that is 83% owned by the taxpayer? Surely the call to be competitive must be balanced with the restrictions of what is effectively now a public sector entity, and not getting the pension you were promised is part and parcel of that re-written reality.

In some ways, the current Chief Executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland has a lot in common with the Prime Minister. Stephen Hester took on a large organisation that had been grossly mismanaged, requiring an eye-popping amount of borrowing to maintain its very existence, and Mr Cameron took on Britain. Both work in results driven industries, geared to short term targets, and neither has probably taken a bus or bought a pint of milk in years.  Of course, a lack of familiarity with public transport and the purchasing of dairy produce need not preclude either from giving a competent account of themselves professionally. However, it speaks to the outrage at one being offered a million pound bonus, and the other seeming unwilling to prevent him taking it.

With belts audibly tightening across the country, the news that Mr Hester would forgo his shares must have elicited an even louder sigh of relief in Downing Street. Mr Cameron has hit the jackpot without even buying a ticket. It would be hard to credit his actions which precipitating this change of heart.  It was pressure from the media, the public, and the Labour party, in the form of an impending Common’s debate on the issue. A tenacious opposition leader might make plentiful political capital of that, although this one has shown a tendency to take the loaded weaponry that fate has handed him, and shoot himself in the foot with it.