THE HACKING AFFAIR 2011

So, the Government has launched an Inquiry into the Hacking Affair headed up by an eminent judge. A Select Committee of the House of Commons will question some witnesses next Tuesday 19 July 2011. The investigations will cost millions and no doubt thousands of pages of reports and evidence will be recorded. So, here is a short cut of key questions to get to the heart of the Hacking Affair.

One of the key principles of journalism is for the Editor to verify the source of the information and to judge what is true and what is fiction. When reporters submitted their copy on topics or people, the Editor should have scrutinised the copy and questioned the journalist about how he / she obtained the information.

Question Did the Editor / Management of the News of the World approve the copy and question the reporters about their copy submission ?

If payments were made to the police -

Question Where are the receipts to justify the payments

If there are not any receipts, why not ? Who authorised any payments and for what ?

Question How could the mobile phone companies and land line companies create a non hacking proof system that allowed hacking to take place, in the words of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, on an industrial level ? Have the phone companies failed to provide adequate security for their users ? How can hacking occur and can it be prevented by modern technology ?

Question Did the reporters / journalists lie to the Management of the News of the World about the source of their copy ?

These are some very basic questions that need to be asked at the early stages of the investigation. The British Public want clinical questioning and answers rather than long winded lengthy and costly debates. Get to the hub of the matter quickly and decisively so that a new brighter future for the Media can be evolved.