THE ACTOR Hugh Grant has called on British prime minister David Cameron to “be a statesman” and expand the judge-led inquiry into the hacking scandal to include an examination of the “grotesque” power that newspaper proprietors hold over politicians.
His comments echo those made by the lawyer for the family of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, who said yesterday that it wouldn’t be right for politicians to “let themselves off the hook” when they set the remit of the inquiries.
The actor said he feared that despite the furore around the hacking allegations, the government had so far not committed to examining the relationship between the media and politicians.
Grant told the Guardian: "I'm panicking that despite all the revelations, the government, with their history of collusion and obedience to [Rupert Murdoch's] News International (publishers of the now-closed News of the Worldnewspaper), will find a way to make this inquiry insufficient and kick it into the long grass.
“Grotesque abuses have been allowed to continue because of the cowardice of our politicians, who have done pretty much . . . what they’ve been told to, partly because they believe News International can get them elected and partly because of a kind of blackmail. There has been a grotesque power over our lawmakers.”
He issued a direct challenge to the prime minister: “This is a watershed moment for David Cameron. He can either continue to be Murdoch’s little helper or he can be a statesman. If it’s the latter, he needs to announce a wider inquiry. It must cover the press, police and politicians.
“The fact is that the prime minister and his wife, the leader of the opposition and his wife, members of the cabinet and shadow cabinet were all at [Murdoch’s] party on 16th June, sipping his Pimms and laughing at his jokes, and that’s a sad reflection on the people who run our country.”
Following a meeting with Labour leader Ed Miliband yesterday, the Dowlers’ lawyer, Mark Lewis, said Milly’s family had urged Mr Miliband to be “fearless” and to “stand up to the press”.
He said: “They have had to go through having their dirty linen washed in public, they have had to go through this awful experience, and now it is time for politicians to go through the same experience to find out the truth in respect to press intrusion into their lives and how it had been fomented by the relationship between the press and politicians.”
Grant and the Dowlers have joined a campaign, Hacked Off, which is pushing for a wider remit for the phone hacking inquiries.
– ( Guardianservice)