links for 2011-07-11

"Here is a challenging proposition: the Press Complaints Commission is actually quite good at what it does. The commission's problem is that the job in question is nothing like the job that its masters in the press have always pretended it does. It is a complaints service. It is not a regulator and has almost nothing to do with the general standards of the press."

"I realise that newspapers are notorious for misquoting but I didn't actually realise that they make up lies and put them as quotes. "There were times when we screamed at each other," I'm quoted as saying. Rob and I just don't scream. There is no way I could have said anything similar to this to be misquoted on. Anyone who knows us will know how ridiculous this is."

"Where I went wrong, and I apologise for this, is to impugn the worst motives not just of The Guardian but also the various political figures who have pursued this issue with such tenacity."