On the day that Andy Coulson and Rebekah Brookes were charged by the Crown Prosecution Service about the phone-hacking of 600 alleged victims during their time as editors of the News of the World, the BBC released an analysis of which witnesses in the Leveson Inquiry used the term "I don't remember" the most during their evidence to the Inquiry. "I don't remember" appears to have become the term of deemed integrity for our captains of industry from Rupert Murdoch to Bob Diamond in this era of self-diagnosed senility.
What emerges is fascinating: Rebekah Brookes and Andy Coulson are in stellar company in the "I don't remember" league along with James and Rupert Murdoch and that chap, I can't recall his name, but I think he may be prime minister.
The number of times witnesses at the Leveson Inquiry who said: "I don't remember," "I don't recall," "I can't remember" or "I can't recall" and the number of words they spoke is shown below in blue and in descending order.
1. David Cameron 49 of 25,890 words spoken
2. James Murdoch 41 of 23,162 words spoken
3. Rebekah Brooks 35 of 20,544 words spoken
4. Rupert Murdoch 30 of 19,362 words spoken
5. Andy Coulson 28 of 10,531 words spoken
Rebekah Brooks immediately refuted the phone-hacking charges saying: "I am not guilty of these charges. I did not authorise, nor was I aware of, phone hacking under my editorship." Mmm, there again she may simply not recall what she had authorised. She and Andy Coulson both played the 'At the News of the World we worked on behalf of the victims of crime' card without any remorse for the 600 victims who were subject to the 'crime' of invasion of privacy and press harassment.
1. David Cameron 49 of 25,890 words spoken
2. James Murdoch 41 of 23,162 words spoken
3. Rebekah Brooks 35 of 20,544 words spoken
4. Rupert Murdoch 30 of 19,362 words spoken
5. Andy Coulson 28 of 10,531 words spoken
Rebekah Brooks immediately refuted the phone-hacking charges saying: "I am not guilty of these charges. I did not authorise, nor was I aware of, phone hacking under my editorship." Mmm, there again she may simply not recall what she had authorised. She and Andy Coulson both played the 'At the News of the World we worked on behalf of the victims of crime' card without any remorse for the 600 victims who were subject to the 'crime' of invasion of privacy and press harassment.
The BBC analysis is an undoubted slur on News International, its leaders and friends. Even the seventh and eighth highest "I don't recall" claims came from the Minister for Culture who is responsible for making the decision on the News International acquiring BSkyB and the Godfather of one of Murdoch's children. Yes, Jeremy Hunt and Tony Blair with 23 and 19 "I don't remember" claims respectively. There were 474 witnesses at Leveson so this is excellent bunching by Team Sky wannabees. Despite or more likely because of the collective amnesia of these magnificent seven domestiques of News International, the spoils of their loyalty will not include the takeover of BSkyB to add to their monopoly of the press.
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