MPs Afraid of Press

It's difficult to get too excited about Channel 4's exclusive report this evening about MPs on the Culture Select Committee who were investigating the News of the World phone-tapping scandal. Apparently, they backed off from forcing News International chief Rebekah Brooks to appear before them because they were afraid of repercussions. According to 4 MPs who spoke to C4 News, they were fearful of News International papers prying into their private lives. Being reminded that our elected representatives are terrified of the press - especially ones as feral and unchecked as those run by News International - is hardly revelatory. Hearing that they might have been prepared to act to bring Britain's tabloids into the realms of responsibility, however, genuinely would have been.