Murdoch Is Served (44)

SECOND ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

It was just two years ago today that Zelo Street posted its first observations on Phonehackgate. From that first post, the line has been that this was a serious business, and that what we actually knew back then was only the tip of a very large iceberg. If only some of those who swallowed the denials had stopped to think.

One who is now up to speed on the matter is the perpetually thirsty and increasingly circumferentially challenged Paul Staines, who styles himself Guido Fawkes. On that same day, he was happy to report Yates Of The Yard telling that there was “Insufficient Evidence Of Widespread Tapping”. The following Monday, Staines headlined a post “Guardian Get Over It”.

In the meantime, said Guardian had given ConHome stalwart Tim Montgomerie a platform for him to tell that “It is a desperate attempt by Labour to get revenge for the ousting of Damian McBride”. Moreover, Monty told that “Rupert Murdoch has been an overwhelming force for good in this country’s life and politics”. Famous last words twice over.

Phil Hendren, aka Dizzy Thinks, also knew what it was all about: “The outrage ... is driven by political bias”. Wrong, Phil. And also wrong, on a point that is now raising questions about Young Dave’s judgment, was Iain Dale, who told that “David Cameron is reported to be ‘relaxed’ about it. That may be because, like any responsible employer, he did his due diligence on Andy Coulson before he was appointed” [my emphasis].

But the icing on the nicely maturing cake comes from Tory Bear, written by Henry Cole, now tame gofer to Paul Staines. Cole went ballistic in his contemptuous attack on the Guardian’s Jackie Ashley, especially as she is married to Andrew Marr. On Coulson, he uttered these priceless words: “The left have been desperately been trying to paint this minor embarrassment from a few years back ... to McBride” [my emphasis]. So minor that the Screws is closing down tomorrow, Hen.

But Hen wasn’t finished. The Guardian was “pathetic”, and “the story is dead. Get over it. Move on. Do your job properly”. Cole signed off by ranting “TB cannot wait until Coulson is running the media show in less than a year and these morons are cast out onto the waste heap where they belong”.

This ability to make such a blatantly wrong call must stand Cole in good stead at the Fawkes blog, where there have been a number of heroic failures of judgment since his arrival. Meanwhile, Zelo Street will continue to judge stories strictly on their merit, or in the case of Henry Cole, the lack thereof. More later? Could be.