I wonder when the penny drops . . .

. . . and it occurs to people, the media, the politicians and the police, that if you consider the incremental timeline of events leading up to where we are today in the phone hacking scandal, the pattern practically screams denial, deferral, obfuscation, misdirection and repeated, blatant lying by the most senior officials in the Murdoch machine. Consider, for example, how and when the first phone hacking allegations emerged - how long ago? - about the Royal Family. A relatively innocuous News of the World story about Prince William's knee injury was the first indication something fishy was going on at NoW. That story, published in November 2005, prompted fears that the voicemail messages of those closest to him were being intercepted. A police inquiry began. Any reputable organisation would have conducted a full internal investigation and rooted out any rot elsewhere. What was the outcome? In January 2007, two journalists, Goodman and Mulcaire were jailed for hacking. Then-editor Andy Coulson resigned but claimed he did not know about the practice, after which he was brought into the Prime Minister's cabinet (good judgement there by the PM!). What happened next? It was not until two-and-a-half years later, in July 2009, that the claims resurfaced again. The Guardian newspaper reported that NoW journalists had been involved in the hacking of up to 3,000 celebrities, politicians and sports stars' phones. And the police and the Press Complaints Commission had found no new evidence of phone hacking. So with all of that in mind, consider where we are today and consider why we should believe anything anyone in power or in the media has to say on the matter.