Ed’s inbox – July 12th

By Mark Ferguson / @markfergusonuk

If Ed Miliband could only read five blogposts each day, he’d read these ones…

John Yates’ evidence is “unconvincing”, say MPs – The Staggers
By Samira Shackle

“Had I known in 2009 what I now know, I would have made different decisions”, says Met’s assistant commissioner.

John Yates, the assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, has just given evidence about phone-hacking to a committee of MPs.

The Home Affairs Select Committee were increasingly hostile to Yates, with Keith Vaz concluding that the view of the committee is that Yates’s evidence was “unconvincing”. – Read more.

Pro-Lansley MP still takes cash from drug companies and private providers – Political Scrapbook
By Political Scrapbook

Writing on Iain Dale’s so-called “mega blog”, Tory MP Nick de Bois waxed lyrical over the supposed benefits of Andrew Lansley’s market-based health reforms:

“to truly ensure patients are given a voice in the future of the NHS, we don’t need to give them a megaphone, but simply put pound signs above their heads.”

Could this callous reduction of the medical profession be linked to his private financial interests? – Read more.

The closure of NOTW should be the beginning of a media overhaul, not the end – THE HONEYBALL BUZZ
By Mary Honeyball

The shock and horror of the British public over the phone hacking scandal at the News of the World is palpable. The British public may have had little sympathy with media-courting celebrities who has the boundaries of their privacy broken – but news that murder victims phones were hacked has justly provoked outrage and disgust against the tabloid.

I am not going to delve too deep into condemning the actions of News International, that pool is already murky enough and our Labour Leader is doing a fine job of fronting proper criticism and putting pressure on Mr Cameron to get his act together in dealing with this issue. – Read more.

Two kinds of brave – Labour Uncut
By Rob Marchant

Steve Richards in the Independent – what seems like an age ago but in reality only last Thursday – defended yesterday’s Labour politicians from the easy criticism that they should have acted against Murdoch. Oh how Blair and Brown bowed and scraped, some are saying. Rubbish. They saw the world as it was, and they prioritised getting and maintaining a Labour government over dealing with a longer-term and mostly intractable problem, the risible regulatory framework which exists around the British media. As had all the other governments before them. Perhaps they shouldn’t have: but it is equally plausible to say that the opportunity to take on the empire just didn’t present itself. It has now. – Read more.

How the Cable/Willetts market in higher education ended up inflating fees – Left Foot Forward
By Daniel Elton

Remember all that lovely spin about how higher education tuition fees of more than £6,000 a year would be rare?

“Mr Willetts gave warning that universities should only charge maximum fees only in ‘exceptional circumstances’.” – The Daily Telegraph, February 21st 2011

“People keep citing £9,000. You know, £9,000 should be the exception not the rule. If you want to go through the £6,000 barrier you are going to have to jump through a lot of hoops.” – The Independent, December 5th 2010 – Read more.