Goodness! They are dropping like flies…..

“This can’t be the first resignation…,” Ken Livingstone talking to BBC News 24 about the shock resignation of Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson.

Mr Livingstone also indicated that others within the met should be off too.

Sir Paul could not have predicted that a few weeks of “R and R” at the glamorous Champneys would leave his glittering police career in tatters on one miserable, wet Sunday evening in July 2011.

How the mighty are being wiped out by the NotW scandal.

I have to admit when this whole saga began unravelling at alarming speed almost two weeks ago, I could never have predicted the whirlwind would have swept up so many high-profile figures.

It is no longer a question of what will happen next but whose head will be next on the chopping block.

Anyone else either directly involved or connected in any way to this saga must now be viewing this as a reign of terror.

Maximilien Marie Isidore de Robespierre would have been proud…..

Plurality call over the NotW fallout

No doubt buoyed by the latest developments which have seen Rupert Murdoch fly to the UK and apologise in person to the Dowler family and Rebekah Brooks arrested, Ed Miliband is now calling for plurality in the media.

Interestingly, he has the firm backing of Nick Clegg who outlined the need for it, along with “diversity” and “accountability” in the media, on Andrew Marr this morning.

Hang on a minute!

Anybody would think the close relationship between the press and politicians is something that has recently occurred in this country.

Neither is it unusual for one man to own a substantial amount of the press.

William Maxwell Aitken (1879-1964) the first Lord Beaverbrook, made his mark in newspapers, politics and finance.

Apart from having a successful parliamentary career – he was one of only three men to serve in the cabinet – he acquired the majority shareholding in the Daily Express and the Evening Standard.

Lord Beaverbrook also courted his fair share of controversy.

The point I am trying to make, if you had not already realised, is that I doubt that there has ever been a time when parliamentarians did not rub shoulders with journalists and their editors.

After all, at least half of them would have attended the same schools and universities – Oxford and Cambridge.

I am all for more transparency but we must be realistic about what is actually possible without going to extremes to make a point, especially a political one.

Why did Rebekah Brooks choose today to resign?

Gone but not forgotten.

Rebekah Brooks will certainly not be forgotten by Milly Dowler’s family or the 200 News of the World journalists who are currently filling in Job Seekers Allowance forms.

I thought I would let the dust settle – hence no post yesterday.

I do not claim to have an oracle but something told me someone or something was about to give.

Yesterday morning the wise and much-respected former editor of the Guardian Newspaper, Peter Preston, appealed for calm as other voices were calling for ways to muzzle “The Press”.

Later on Tony Blair talked about “getting everything out in open”.

Mais excusez-moi! He must be aware of the proverb: “People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.”

This from a man who apparently “doesn’t do God” but then promptly converts to Catholicism after leaving office.

The words “kettle” and “black” also spring to mind come to think of it….

I am not even going to mention the so-called “dodgy dossier”.

Oh, damn it!

Then the Huffington Post reveals the FBI is to launch an investigation following reports alleging the phones of 9/11 victims may have been hacked into.

Meanwhile, father and son Murdoch make a surprise u-turn after refusing to appear before a parliamentary committee next Tuesday, and leaving the beleaguered Mrs Brooks to take MPs’ questions on the chin.

Finally, one of the richest men in the world who just happens to own a staggering seven percent stake in News Corp – making him the second largest shareholder – grants Newsnight an exclusive interview.

Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal stated the News International chief excecutive would have to resign if there was any sign of her involvement.

Lo and behold Rebekah falls on her sword the next morning and her successor is swiftly announced.

Of course, we can all speculate until the cows come home but it is likely we will never actually discover why she chose to leave when she did……..

News of the World revelations rumble on……

Isn’t it funny how those who decided to take the three monkeys approach to professional life have suddenly found their voice…………