The Guardian notes:
Andy Coulson, the prime minister's chief media adviser, has denied in court that he ordered reporters to "practise the dark arts" by illegally hacking phones and "blagging" confidential information when he was editor of the News of the World.
Coulson told the high court in Glasgow that he had no idea his newspaper had used private detectives to illegally "hack" phone messages from members of the royal family and other targets.
And I don’t believe him.
That’s not a libel.
That’s statement of fact on my part.
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Forgive me but I don’t agree. It’s not a statement of fact, it’s a statement of opinion … equally not actionable as a libel, but different all the same. 😉
@Evan Price
It’s a fact that I hold that opinion 🙂
And here’s how Coulson got away with it.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/dec/12/phone-hacking-scandal-information-move
The CPS couldn’t prosecute because the police had refused to investigate the mountain of evidence seized from Mulcaire and to interview the senior journalists who hired him (covering the trail to Coulson). The targets have now lost access to this evidence. If the investigation is reopened, expect the evidence to go missing. A funny handshake, a brown envelope and justice is served. Evening all.
“On Friday Keir Starmer, director of public prosecutions, announced that Coulson would not face prosecution after the crown prosecution service spent four weeks studying material from a renewed Scotland Yard investigation.
He said new witnesses had refused to co-operate with the police and there was “no admissible evidence upon which the CPS could properly advise the police to bring criminal charges”.”
All this just backs up Peter Oborne’s excellent, and frightening documentary on Dospatches a couple of months ago about how News International’s untoward influence in Britian. Coulson’s as guilty as sin on this, but, surprise, surprise, no one is prepared to testify against him.