Publish and be Damned

First of all I do not understand why anyone would want to know what that buffoon John Prescott was saying over his telephone, even when he was a minister, and secondly I find it very difficult to care whether his or anyone else's 'phone was hacked. No great story or scandal has been revealed to the public as a result of the hacking although I acknowledge that some have suffered embarrassment as a result of their intimate conversations being reported in the press. Is the hacking we are talking about any different from someone listening at a keyhole and then reporting what he or she has heard to the world? I do not believe there is a crime involved in listening at keyholes so why should the police waste its time and our money on bolstering the egos of celebrities vying with each other to complain about their fatuous conversations being overheard and reported. Presumably all those celebrities who have complained to the police are on the 'A' list. Pity the poor celebrities whose conversations have not been 'hacked' and reported. They must be wondering what it takes to get onto the 'A' list. The answer though to those who worry about their conversations being 'hacked' is not to say anything controversial over the 'phone and not to read the newspapers that instead of reporting real news report on overheard conversations - in other words the tabloid press. As Wellington said in not dissimilar circumstances all those years ago 'publish and be damned'.