Having run his inquiry into media ethics thus far without a pratfall, Lord Justice Leveson has created an opportunity to make a complete ass of himself next week by getting heavy with Paul Staines, who blogs under the alias Guido Fawkes.
Reportedly, Staines will be told he must say who gave him an early draft of Alastair Campbell's evidence to the inquiry yesterday. Since Staines runs a business that relies heavily on leaked information, he obviously cannot agree to divulge the name, nor is there any good reason why he should.
Annoying though it may be to people in authority, there is no reason why the nation needs to be protected from the premature leaks of a document written for publication by public figures.
But not everyone who leaks does it for the best motives.
What happened in this case, if Staines is telling the truth rather than throwing up a smokescreen to protect his source, is that Alastair Campbell passed his draft statement in confidence to a journalist he trusted to get feedback.
The journalist then either passed it to Guido Fawkes, or allowed someone else to get their hands on it, who passed it to the blogger. Very sneaky...read more
Reportedly, Staines will be told he must say who gave him an early draft of Alastair Campbell's evidence to the inquiry yesterday. Since Staines runs a business that relies heavily on leaked information, he obviously cannot agree to divulge the name, nor is there any good reason why he should.
Annoying though it may be to people in authority, there is no reason why the nation needs to be protected from the premature leaks of a document written for publication by public figures.
But not everyone who leaks does it for the best motives.
What happened in this case, if Staines is telling the truth rather than throwing up a smokescreen to protect his source, is that Alastair Campbell passed his draft statement in confidence to a journalist he trusted to get feedback.
The journalist then either passed it to Guido Fawkes, or allowed someone else to get their hands on it, who passed it to the blogger. Very sneaky...read more
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/diary/diary-guido-fawkes-evidence-may-backfire-on-leveson-inquiry-6270153.html
CAMPBELLS LEAKED STATEMENT
http://themurdochempireanditsnestofvipers.blogspot.com/2011/11/leveson-inquiry-mp-tom-watson-cached.html
