UK Guardian: Midsummer madness

[T_i_B]

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/columnist/story/0,9321,1005131,00.html

In the UK, a vicious spat has exploded between a centre-left government and a highly respected public broadcast organisation. Surely these would be the most natural of allies? Why, then, is the New Labour spin machine doing everything to aid and abet the rapacious media interests of Rupert Murdoch et al at the cost of the BBC? Surely even they must squirm at the hypocrisy of Murdoch tabloids, masters of exaggeration and inaccuracy, pontificating about journalistic standards. Why does Blair seem so keen to discredit one of the few remaining public institutions in the UK which enjoys public confidence and worldwide acclaim?

The substance of the spat - exactly who inserted the patently false claim into a pre-war government dossier that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction ready to be launched in 45 minutes - is hollow. Does it really matter who inserted the false claim? Surely what is important is that the claim was false in the first place, as was so much of the paper-thin case for going to war. I don't really care whether Alastair Campbell or his cleaning lady inserted the "45 minute" assertion. I do care that the country was cajoled into war on false grounds, a breach of trust between government and the people unprecedented in recent times. The fact remains that the government and its agencies collated information which was false, yet in this Summer madness we've all been duped into talking about what Alastair did or did not do. It's high time we consign Mr Campbell to the irrelevance in this debate he so richly deserves.

(snip)