I remember a lesson from law school that seems apposite in the midst of the phone hacking maelstrom. The lesson was that it is not enough for solicitors to actually be honest and ethical – but that we also need to be seen to be honest and ethical, in order to uphold public confidence in the legal profession. The optics are almost as important as the reality.
For this reason, the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) is dead. Not because it is dishonest or unethical. But because it cannot recover from the public’s perception of it as ineffective and unable to regulate the media’s big beasts. Whether or not that view is fair is irrelevant. The damage is irreparable and the PCC cannot recover from it.
