Phone Hacking Judge supped at the Murdoch trough....

I must confess I was astounded on reading the news that Lord Justice Leveson, the man appointed by David Cameron to lead the Inquiry into phone hacking by the media, had attended at least two parties at the home of Elizabeth Murdoch, daughter of Rupert and her husband, PR man Matthew Freud.  It seems he also had dinner with the PR boss on another occasion.

Now, wouldn't you think that after all the gob-smacking, jaw-dropping, fuss over phone hacking, the Prime Minister would have gone for someone really independent, or are the Murdoch connections so widespread, that there isn't anyone, not even a senior judge, who hasn't had some form of contact? And wouldn't you think that a judge of his seniority would have immediately ruled himself out of the Inquiry job?

The Lord Justice may be a man of integrity, but it is disgraceful that someone on social terms with a Murdoch would even consider himself a candidate for the job. And what of our Prime Minister, already on dangerous ground over his hiring of Andy Coulson? Is he so reckless, so isolated from public opinion, so lacking in judgement, that he would think it acceptable to appoint Leveson, aware that he had supped at the Murdoch trough?

The phone hacking scandal at News International has exposed the way the UK is run. Rich nobs running the country with a nod and a wink, looking down their noses at the rest of us. The spirit of the Bullingdon Club lives on!