Richard Desmond at the the Leveson Inquiry yesterday? Illuminating. The proprietor of the Express newspaper group, as well as being a big player in the porno market was asked his views on press freedom. In replying, he revealed an intellectual poverty and a level of unscrupulousness that was breathtaking. Asked about ethics he claimed not to know what the word meant. It was pretty obvious to everyone that he knew what it meant all right, the idea just never entered into his calculations. Like the execrable Kelvin McKenzie before him, he was of the view that if there's a story it should be published, regardless of any moral considerations.
Worst of all, when quizzed about his paper's peddling of the idea that the McCanns were responsible for their child's death, he had the gall to suggest they were happy to go along with the coverage because it as keeping coverage of their disappearance on the front page, and that they only decided to sue (which they did, securing a half mil in settlement) when they engaged Carter-Fuck, the famous firm of libel lawyers. Really? They were perfectly happy to read day after day that Maddie was dead, and that they had murdered her?
I did find myself agreeing with him at one point though. He felt the PCC was a useless, toothless institution, run by people who hated his guts. He's right there of course. The chair of the PCC is none other than Paul Dacre, owner of the Mail group, Desmond's biggest rivals.
Desmond, like other editors we have seen, came over as a repugnant little spiv whose only interest is turning a healthy profit. He might just have easily said:
"Ethics? Fuck ethics. Just give me the fucking money. I've got an obscene lifestyle to finance."
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