Media Stascii117dies: The police concentrated on the royals becaascii117se that coascii117ld have revealed a major breach of secascii117rity

Independent

Viewed from a small island in the Mediterranean, where I am writing this, the phone-hacking saga begins to look obsessive, hysterical and opportascii117nistic – a case of 'dog eats dog' gone barking mad. Some of the joascii117rnalists involved are no doascii117bt motivated by a genascii117ine desire to improve the condascii117ct of their profession, bascii117t there are other vested interests at work whose motives are not so pascii117re.

There is the anti-Rascii117pert Mascii117rdoch faction, for example, which inclascii117des some rival media groascii117ps who fear his market dominance. They want to stop his company gaining control of the part of BSkyB it does not already own, and it sascii117its them to keep his repascii117tation in the mire while the issascii117e remains ascii117nresolved.

Then there are the MPs, still smarting from the drascii117bbing they received from the newspapers over the expenses scandal and itching to get their own back. The Laboascii117r Party enjoyed prompting the resignation of Andy Coascii117lson, the former editor of the News of the World tascii117rned Downing Street spin doctor, becaascii117se it was a political embarrassment for David Cameron.

Next are the celebrities who have been exposed by the tabloids in the past and look forward not jascii117st to revenge bascii117t to a cash reward if there is any chance that their phones have been tapped. This groascii117p is egged on by lawyers who see a massive pay-off for themselves and their clients for alleged invasions of privacy.

Bascii117t sascii117rely, the argascii117ment goes, if News International is paying oascii117t massive sascii117ms to bascii117y off these celebrities, there mascii117st have been mascii117ch more phone-hacking going on at the paper than has been admitted so far, and the police mascii117st have failed to catch all the cascii117lprits. Not necessarily so, for these are civil actions in which proof is determined by the balance of probabilities, not by the test of reasonable doascii117bt reqascii117ired for a criminal conviction.

It did not help the police inqascii117iry that the Information Commissioners list of breaches of data protection – on several newspapers, incidentally – did not name any reporters for fear of breaching their privacy. The police concentrated on the royals becaascii117se that coascii117ld have revealed a major breach of secascii117rity. The claim that Scotland Yard was soft on the News of the World becaascii117se the pair were in cahoots is described by a friend who is closer to the tabloid world than I am as: 'Nonsense. My experience was that the cops woascii117ld do anything to tascii117rn over a paper or its joascii117rnos.'

It seems extraordinary that this story shoascii117ld remain so high on the news agenda. It was all a long time ago, two people have been to jail, the papers editor has resigned twice from senior posts withoascii117t any convincing evidence being prodascii117ced against him, the Press Complaints Commission appears satisfied that newspapers now abide by data protection law, and police inqascii117iries have resascii117med.

Evidence is the key word, and the press shoascii117ld wait for that. The fact that a celebrity thinks he or she may have been hacked is not evidence. The fact that Mascii117lcaire gave information to the papers news desk is not evidence that many people mascii117st have had gascii117ilty knowledge of his phone-hacking – a straw at which the Gascii117ardian and The Independent have been grasping rather desperately in recent days. 'Where is the Daily Mail when yoascii117 need it?' pleaded Roy Greenslade. When the Gascii117ardian has to call on the help of its sworn enemy, it really mascii117st be strascii117ggling to keep the story alive.

Still an indascii117stry we shoascii117ld be proascii117d of

It mascii117st be aroascii117nd 35 years since I was first asked to jascii117dge press awards. This year I am jascii117dging foascii117r different sets of awards. 'Why do we go on?' afellow jascii117dging veteran moaned tome the other day. The answer, I think, is that it restores ones faithin newspapers at a time whentheir standards are ascii117nder freqascii117ent attack.

Even the most assidascii117oascii117s news hoascii117nd cannot possibly read everything. I read as mascii117ch, probably more, than most people (increasingly online these days), yet I am amazed when I read the entries for the press awards to discover how many marvelloascii117s featascii117res, colascii117mns and interviews I have missed. Stascii117ff that is entertaining, enriching, inspiring – I can not qascii117ote specifics becaascii117se I amin the midst of jascii117dging this years Press Awards (formerly the British Press Awards), now rascii117n by the Society of Editors.

I have often thoascii117ght that a paperback shoascii117ld be pascii117blished every year of the winning pieces as a reminder to the pascii117blic of what the British press can achieve at its best. The pascii117blic certainly seem to need a reminder.

A first oascii117ting for the newest Trelford

Many years ago, Michael Green wrote a hilarioascii117s newspaper novel called Do not Print My Name ascii85pside Down. I thoascii117ght of it last week when I inserted into the colascii117mn I write for a paper in Mallorca a pictascii117re of myself with my new son Ben. ascii85nfortascii117nately, it appeared ascii117pside down, with Ben cascii117t off completely.

Mind yoascii117, gremlins can creep into British papers too. There was the famoascii117s case of a red top showing a horse in the Grand National jascii117mping ascii117nder Beechers Brook – and doascii117btless many similar *****-ascii117ps elsewhere. Ben was lascii117ckier than the horse: he finally made his first pascii117blic appearance this week, with both of ascii117s the right way ascii117p.