This Blog does not think so. Wait for the opening of the Harbottle and Lewis file and the likely spilling of quite a lot of beans by Glen Mulcaire.
In the end, after several hours, the deferential and sympathetic responses, by the whole Murdoch clan, to the questioning of the select committees, added up to the simple summary; Not me Guv!
Hmmm. We shall see.
It was a good performance in the Commons yesterday from from the PM. He put heart into the Tory benches which were beginning to lose it and many, though not all, commentators felt that he had gone far enough on Coulson. Then came Hunt.
The Secretary of State for culture Media and Sport is perhaps the most hapless minister that the long memory of this blog is able to recall. Everything about his quasi-judicial function is a shambles and now he has successfully put Cameron on the spot. Again. Everyone suspects that these covert meetings with various Murdochs and their people gave rise to talk of BSkyB. Vince had had the responsibility taken from him once he offended the quasi judicial element of his portfolio. This appeared to clear the way for the compliant Hunt to make the right noises and nod it through. This was all part of the bargain between the Murdochs and their support for the Tories. Or so it looks.
Cameron yesterday allied himself ( another poor judgement call?) to Rebekah Brooks when deflecting questions about what he had talked about with her over BSkyB when pressed, time and again, by Labour. His failure to answer a yes or no, coupled with the Hunt gaffe, opens a new front of opposition attack.
The problem with political drama is that, once tainted, a Prime Minister remains in office but not in power; Chamberlain after Munich, Eden after Suez, Macmillan after Profumo, Major after Black Wednesday, Blair after Iraq. As all the enquires unfold in the phone hacking saga, too often will names associated with Cameron resurface to keep the whiff of scandal fresh. Especially if any go on trial.
For Milliband the Murdoch crisis has been his making. Down the track with gathering speed is coming the Sovereign Debt Crisis. For this test (for us all) Cameron leads the stronger team. He must now unite it to make the new crisis Milliband’s undoing. That should not be difficult. All Milliband has got is Ed Balls.