Cheerfully Defiant Criminals Mock British Justice

Some doubt has emerged as to whether the sentences of jailed phone hackers include sufficient emphasis on the punitive. The recently released Neville Thurlbeck has reported, in a "light-hearted" blog entry, that Andy Coulson is in good spirits and has received "nothing other than the hand of friendship" from other warehouse stock. There have been reports of the Prime Minister's former Murdoch stable-mate being attacked, and Thurlbeck expressed a wish to "put the record straight". In a denizen of the scumbag tabloids, this is certainly a rare and precious motive; but it is as yet unclear what the stern moralists in Chris Graybeing's Ministry for Profitable Incarceration will make of the matter. Given that the Ministry, like many scumbag tabloids, usually does not consider people sufficiently punished until they have been driven to riot or suicide, all this unrepentant chirpiness must be a cause of deep concern.